Dry Spell
by Likefiftychai
Summary: It's been two years since Raimundo made Shoku Warrior. They're still finding the Shen Gon Wu, still protecting the world, and still battling evil. Or they would be, if evil would keep it's appointments.
1. Chapter 1

The clear skies gave a much needed smooth ride back to the temple, Dojo landing near the vault as the monks slid off of him right away, stretching their legs and arms as they were finally able to move again. 

"Another week another wu huh kids?" Dojo shrank, slithering his way onto Omi's shoulders as he and Rai walked to the vault to put up the new wu, and the others they'd brought along. 

"Yeah, seems that way at this point. Is it just a coincidence or are we getting to the end of the wu list?" Rai opened the vault and made his way down the steps, he and Omi putting wu away as they went. 

"Just a coincidence, there's still lots of wu hiding throughout the world, waiting to give me a rash." Dojo raised his arms before scratching his back at the ghost of the previous wu ailment. "We've had worse and longer dry spells before though." 

"Yeah- but still it feels like it's literally one a week these days. And I don't like how quiet it's been." Raimundo shut one of the drawers before leaning back on the wall, staring straight up to the tower above. "Wuya, Chase, Hannibal- even JACK has been missing from most of the wu hunts. Something is fishy and I don't like it." 

"I understand your worry Raimundo, but even if they are all quiet, I cannot see Chase putting aside his differences to work with more than just Wuya, if even her." Omi walked past him, opening a drawer a few steps lower and putting the third arm sash back into it. "He is not fond of Jack Spicer's antics, or Hannibal's entire Beaning." 

"I mean yeah, who does, but-... Omi I hate you." Raimundo put his hands to his face, wearing a large and reluctant grin. "That was awful. I'm kinda proud." He pushed himself off the wall and started making his way back up the stairs, Omi following along after putting away the last wu. 

"Really though. Working together or not, I'm not sure if that ultimate evil team would be better or worse than them all attacking separately at once. None of them are exactly threats to sneeze at." Even Jack, who'd over the last year improved immensely. For him at least. He was still overly confident but slightly less undeserved as it once was. 

"I understand your concerns Raimundo, but I believe it is best we use this time to prepare for what they, or others, may bring." Omi smiled up at his friend, Raimundo looked at him before sighing and nodding. 

"Yeah. There's not much else we can do. Doesn't stop the bad gut feeling." Rai shoved his hands in his pockets, rolling his neck he and Omi met back up with Kimiko and Clay. 

"What's got your guts in a bind there Rai?" Clay peered at him under the brim of his hat, hearing just the last sentence of his and Omi's conversation. 

"Oh ya know the usual, fate of the world in the hands of four teenagers, villains quiet and suspicious, world cup is coming up. Basic stuff." He stated matter-o-factly and shrugged. 

"Hey come on, whatever they throw at us, we can handle." Kimiko said, turning to walk into the main building of the temple, followed by the others. "Not like we haven't before." 

"I'm not saying we can't. I'm just saying I don't like the waiting game." Rai slumped his shoulders before yawning. "I think I'm gonna go get a nap in before dinner. May not have had a showdown this last hunt but man, I'm exhausted." 

"You better not be expecting a wake up call." Kimiko glanced over her shoulder at him, he gave a sheepish grin at her piercing gaze and started walking to the bedroom stalls. 

"Nah, no it's good I'll set my alarm." He stepped away quickly, ready to flop onto the thin mat in his excuse for a room. 

He slipped past the curtain and quickly fell, face forward onto his pillow. He hummed as the stress of the day rolled on his shoulders. His teammates were right, the villains silence wasn't exactly a bad thing right now. 

Then again, they weren't the group leaders. Raimundo shifted his head, opened his eyes and stared at the wall. He'd been chosen for a reason- for every reason. There wasn't just one quality that made him stand out, that got him to where he was, but everything he is. He's a leader, with a trustworthy gut, the ability to think on his feet, and the wittiest comebacks. He rolled over onto his back, now staring at the ceiling with the same uneasy look. 

"What are you up to." He whispered, so many faces passing through his mind. Jack, Wuya, Ashley, Tubbimura, Chase, Hannibal, Gigi, Le Mime, Dyris. The list went on, his face twisting into more worry as it did. The worst part, he knew, is that these were just the villains they'd met.

Once upon a time they only knew of Wuya and Jack. Every month seemed to bring new trouble, a new evil, a new attacker. Now with already a long list of people with vendettas, hatred, and even just the pure want to rule the world. Who else would pop up from the woodwork to take their turn at the bat of being the world's biggest asshole?

He let out a deep breath, trying to go back to his attempts at relaxing. Maybe he'd go on a bit of a patrol later. Just to put his mind at ease, pay a hopefully unnoticed to the bigger names in the baddie game. For now though, he was back after a long day and deserved a minute or two of shut eye. 

A minute turned to five, turned to two hours before he woke up. Rolling off the mat and right onto the floor he kicked the tangled blanket from his legs and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and lifted himself off the ground, the smell of dinner reaching him quickly and drawing him out of his room. 

Just was about to open his curtain, someone else beat him too it, pulling the cloth back Raimundo jumped in surprise, Kimiko stood there with an unamused scowl. 

"Set an alarm, huh?" She remarked, turning on her heel and heading back to the kitchen. 

"Hey, I never said I needed your wake up call." Rai put his hands up in defense, following behind her.

"Yeah, I lost rock paper scissors. Lucky you were already up." She murmured, hands a bit hot at the thought of intended wake up message. Nothing bad but, a quick flash never hurt anyone. Maybe singed some hair but, didn't hurt.

"Well it's so sweet of you to want to wake me." Rai joked, placing a hand on Kimiko's shoulder and leaning down. "A kiss to wake up my sleeping beauty?" Kimiko snorted, pushing his face away. 

"Oh yes, a beautiful, light, kiss with a fiery fist. Just the way you like it right?" Kimiko flexed her hand, sparks at the ends of her fingertips as Raimundo backed off again. 

"Come on save all that energy for when there's someone to actually fight." Rai walked ahead of, his hunger finally catching up with him.

The table was already set, everyone else waiting for them to get back. The table was very full but, with the usual stuff. Rice, salad, fish, plenty of options of most things. Raimundo took his seat, nodding at the others. 

"Nice of you to join us Raimundo." Master Fung greeted. Rai gave a sheepish smile before clearing his throat. 

"Sorry, I uh, lost track of time." Master Fung gave him a look, but shrugged it off to stare back down the table and look to the other monks. It had been five years since three of them had shown up at the temple, five years since they had begun their endless journey. They were too young, he always knew, much younger than they should have to be to fight the evils of the world, but magic has never cared for age requirements. 

"Well, now that we are all here, please begin."The monks didn't hesitate, filling plates and chowing down. Master Fung remained still, waiting for them to take their fill. He was quiet, hands folded in his lap. It wasn't until arms stopped reaching over dishes that he noticed Raimundo wasn't too different. He had gotten some food, but not nearly the amount he normally would. He wasn't touching it either, instead staring at the blank space on the table, deep in thought. Master Fung filled his own plate, deciding this would be a discussion for after dinner, one to be had in private. 

Light chatter filled the room, stories that had been told before about home, ones that no one minded hearing again. Learning about the others, hearing the same stories that made them life or their faces light up the way they did, it was nice. Raimundo would look up on occasion, smiling at the current story teller, laughing on cue, paying just enough attention. The others noticed his silence but kept it aside. They all had those days, and sometimes you just needed to let it roll through.

A coin flip for who had to do the dishes that night ended with Kimiko and Omi stuck in the kitchen while Clay and Raimundo headed off for the night. Raimundo went outside, breathing in the cool, fresh air and deciding a stroll in the moonlight would do him some good. He walked through the temple gardens, ending up at the base of a large tree. He sat in the grass, leaning his head back and staring up at the branches. Listening to the crickets chirp, watching the leaves rustle softly, and feeling the cold grass beneath his fingers. He wasn't really thinking anymore, in fact trying to avoid it. The anxious feeling that'd gripped his heart since they'd returned home, the fear that gnawed at the back of his mind. He didn't want to focus on these so much, not right now. 

He blinked as he heard soft footsteps approaching him, peering around the tree and standing up, greeting Master Fung.

"I noticed something troubling you." He said, not beating around the bush as Raimundo leaned back against the tree and avoided looking him in the eyes. One arm leaning against the tree, his hand on the back of his neck as he hummed for a second.

"Just, stuff. No big deal." He rubbed the thumb and fingers of his free hand together, the nervous feeling nipping at him again.

"Dojo told me you had begun questioning the whereabouts of the Heylin. Is that what is weighing so heavily on your mind, Raimundo?" Rai almost fell before giving an uneasy look. He'd hit the nail on the head, though he wasn't surprised really.

"Yeah. I just, can't stop wondering. Every time they go silent, they come back with something bigger and badder. That's just the villains we know too. There's always another evil, always a bigger threat. Part of that whole balance thing you talk about, we get stronger, and they have to match it." The world made sure of that. Every chapter of their training, every new level they met, was always coupled with someone new. Someone stronger than they expected, stronger than what they'd faced before. Except this time, Raimundo had become a Shoku warrior, he'd become the leader and they'd all become so much stronger. Yet no new evils presented themselves in an overdramatic and overconfident glory.

"The world needs balance to stay intact. We have seen how it falls apart when this is not met." Raimundo's mine rushed back to the instance where the world literally died, split into two, everything that happened when a Heylin took the top spot for too long. "Your worry is not misplaced Raimundo. Good and evil will always fight, and when one evil leaves, a greater one must enter."

"So. You're as freaked out as I am huh?" Rai raised his eyebrows, cocking his head to the side in curiousity.

"Yes, you could say that." Master Fung closed his eyes, completely serious despite Raimundo's tone.

Raimundo laughed a little before running his hand through his hair. "Well. I was thinking of doing a. Patrol I guess. Just checking, I don't know, Jack's house. Chase's lair. Maybe see if Guan's heard anything?"

"That could be very dangerous, I'm sure you're aware."

"Yeah, but what else can I do? Sit here til someone swoops in to kick our butts?" Raimundo asked exasperatedly. He'd been wracking his brain about this since they'd returned, he had to do something.

"Raimundo, you were chosen as Shoku warrior for a reason. You are the leader, and the one to make the decisions. I am merely reminding you that it is not as easy as dropping by."

Raimundo sighed, slumping against the large tree and letting a deep and frustrated breath out through his nose. He knew Master Fung was right. He'd have to take precautions. Maybe going alone wasn't the best idea, either.

"I'll talk to the others. See if we can go tomorrow." At this, Master Fung gave a gentle smile and nodded at him.

"A wise decision." He turned to leave. "Sleep well tonight, Raimundo." With that he headed back to the temple, leaving Raimundo to think again.

Man he hated thinking sometimes.

Raimundo decided, finally, that it was probably time for him to head back inside as well. He brushed dirt off his legs and headed back in. The warm light of the temple washed back over him contrasting with the cool moonlight, he blinked hard as his eyes readjusted. The other three were lounging, continuing dinners conversation. They all gave him a welcoming smile when he sat down between Omi and Kimiko.

"Feelin any better Rai?" Clay asked him. Raimundo shrugged at him.

"At the least, I've figured out what to do. I want to check in, see what's going on around." The other three gave him a perturbed look. "Like, ya know. Go to Jack's, Chase's citadel, maybe even Ashley's condo."

"You sure that's the best idea? Snoopin around a buncha villains sounds like ringing trouble's bell."

"I know, but I'd rather interrupt something then just wait for trouble to come to us." Raimundo crossed his arms. "I'll wear the danger sneakers, we'll stay as a group, we'll play it safe as we can." The three monks looked at him again before each other.

"If it is what you think is the right thing to do Raimundo, we will follow you." Omi placed a hand on Raimundo's shoulder. Raimundo relaxed, not even realizing just how tense he'd been since he sat down.

"It is definitely suspicious." Kimiko pulled her ponytail over her shoulder, eyes glancing upward as she thought over the last few months. It was going to be dangerous, but if they were careful than they could find out what they needed and be alright.

"So it's settled then." Raimundo clasped his hands together. "Tomorrow, we'll do a villain check in. If they're just, chilling then we leave. If they're obviously plotting, we start making plans to take them down." He stood up, and the others followed in suit, walking back to their rooms. 

No one was sure what they'd find the next day, but the plans for the day still left a bit of weight in the pit of everyone's stomach. They were all suspicious, really it was much less the possibility of danger than it was going to the doorstep of it. They trusted Raimundo's instincts though, along with the agreement that if there is something being plotted, they'd much rather know before it was shoved into their laps. The returned to their rooms, tucking into bed, each trying to get as much rest as they could.

-  
A/N:  
hope ya'll are ready for a Ride bc this is gonna be somethin im doin my best here to get this fandom some of the good stuff it deserves. Interactions we deserve more of mainly. Be Ready.  
Anyways there are ships and More Characters but I'll be adding them as we go because I'd feel like a jerk if i promised ya'll stuff, and then if I end up dropping this the promise just hangs sadly above us all.  
Same with warnings- the only one is Grapphic Violence may happen. I'm still working on it but ofc I'll add the warning as needed


	2. Chapter 2

The sun had barely risen before Raimundo sat up, rubbing his tired eyes. He pushed himself off the floor, wobbling a bit as the rest of his body finished waking up. He'd barely slept the night before, but now he could at least get up and move again. The older monks would be awake, which meant he could be awake and could start getting together the few wu he knew they'd need. He stretched his arms as he walked, letting out a long yawn and making his way to the vault.

He mentally checked off what he'd planned to bring. Danger sneakers were the main ones he wanted to make sure he had, just in case things did have a chance of getting hairy. They'd let him know before anything could happen. He grabbed a few others, sword of the storm, star of hanabi- wu that complimented their powers. He hoped they wouldn't need any of these, but better safe than sorry.

Leaving the vault, he wasn't surprised to see Omi already up and about, starting his own morning routine. He looked as alert as ever. Raimundo wouldn't be surprised if he was the only one who slept soundly that night. He had the different type of confidence in all of them, unwavering in many ways. Omi believed in himself and his friends, and while it may have at first been difficult to take, over the last two years he had grown to believe in Raimundo as their leader.

Omi's eyes met his, a silent smile in greeting as he continued his exercise. Raimundo nodded at him, walking past and back inside the temple. He put the wu out on the table in front of him, despite already doing three checks to make sure he had everything he was planning to bring. Not too much wu, nothing more than what they needed to defend themselves and get away. That was the plan. Look, see, leave. 

He sat down, tapping his fingers impatiently. Not that he wanted to leave right then, but time seemed to be come to a standstill as he awaited his fellow monks. His face was twisted into an annoyed glare until Kimiko came in, stretching her arms and yawning loudly.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." He leaned on the table, one hand holding up his head as Kimiko glared at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, not all of us can wake up fifteen minutes early to pretend we woke up fully ready for the world." She padded past him, her robes cradled in one arm and lips pursed together in frustration. It was far too early in the morning to deal with Raimundo's snark. He just gave her a smirk as she left before turning his head back, facing the wall again and his face falling back to frustration and impatience.

Kimiko was up. He knew that must mean Clay won't be far behind, and Omi shouldn't be much longer either. They'd eat a quick breakfast and head out. Raimundo's hand roughly slid up his face and through his hair. He huffed and continued to glare forward. Why was he so anxious about this now, they had a plan, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. The squirming feeling in his stomach only got worse as he thought that. It shouldn't be a big deal, but he was terrified of what they'd find.

Would they find Hannibal, some new power at his tendrils? Wuya, with her own power back, ready to once again destroy the world? Chase with some new scheme, maybe even a new henchman? Jack in the midst of a new invention, those robots from the bad future- Raimundo shuddered. His memories of that weren't nearly as clear as they'd learned Omi's were, but the complete mix of timelines had given all of them some small bit of that world. He didn't like it.

The worst thought hit him, and his nose twitched as the nauseous feeling doubled. What if they found nothing? What if he just looked like a fool, taking them out for the day to just go and find out Wuya and Chase are still bickering, Jack could still barely build a bot that didn't fall apart all on its own, and Hannibal was still an inch tall and relied on birds and witches to help him? If he was worrying for nothing, wasting their time while they should be training or hunting for wu or something else…

He took a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose. No. He couldn't have those thoughts swimming in his head again. It'd taken him too long to truly accept and find his own place as leader among them all. Even if they didn't find anything, checking wasn't a mistake. It wasn't a wrong move. It'd be one that'd help all of them be at ease, at least for a little longer.

"Raimundo, you doin alright?" Clay stood in the doorway pajamas ruffled. His half lidded eyes mad it obvious he was still tired, but had finally pushed himself out of bed and through the temple to bathe and change before breakfast. Raimundo looked at him for a second, his ruffled hair and the nonchalant aura about him. He ignored the light heat in his cheeks and cleared his throat.

"Yeah just. Jittery." He patted his hands on the table. Clay gave him a lopsided and sleepy grin, one that Raimundo rather liked. He hoped the growing heat in his face wasn't too obvious, or that Clay was still too tired to notice.

"It'll be alright, partner. We find something we can stop, or we know no one's up to no good. Either way, we're gonna be doin better after." The casual way Clay basically repeated Raimundo's own thoughts lifted an unbelievable amount of tension off his shoulders. He knew it's what his friends thought, but actually hearing it from one of them did a lot more to help than he'd really expected.

"Right. Thanks, man." Raimundo sent him a more confident grin. While his fingers still tapped and the uncomfortable squirming didn't stop, he definitely felt better about the whole situation.

A quick breakfast later and they were on their way, each monk having one of the first wu they'd found of their elements. Just enough to stay safe. They'd agreed on using the golden tiger claws for travel. It was the fastest along with being the least obvious when arriving, compared to a flying dragon, manta ray, or any other metallic animal.

Raimundo had decided that the first would be the one that'd be the most dangerous: Chase's citadel. He didn't want them to be stressing over the known location of at least one major Heylin, so might as well get it out of the way first.

The portal opened in the entrance. The soft blue and calming fountains were ironic as no one in the group felt relaxed. No jungle cats, no Heylin warrior. So far, so safe. They stood in a tight group; they didn't have to go far in- if Chase was there, he'd probably greet them with a warm welcome and some angry cats.

But even upon entering his throne room, there was nothing and no one. Not Chase or Wuya, no cats in sight, just empty halls and an eerie silence.

"So he could be out planning something," Kimiko said, eyes scanning the room for even a slight hint.

"He is the only one with a home address, might be best to opt outta plannin anything here if they're grouped together," Clay added. He was right; if there was some sort of evil nightmare team happening, grouping at the first place any of them would look was a bad idea, and one even they'd recognize as foolish.

"So we can't rule him out, but not much we can do if he's not here." Raimundo stood up straight, doing his own final check of the throne room. Something still felt off to him. Even if Chase was off canoodling elsewhere with a bag of baddies, where were the cats? No way he'd just leave everything so unguarded. They could be deeper in the citadel, but he wasn't willing to find out. They hadn't come to stop them at the sign of intrusion; Chase hadn't either. It just all felt off.

Shrugging it away for now, he opened up the next portal. The next stop was everyone's favorite evil boy genius. They landed in front of his door, and an awkward silence over took them for a moment. What exactly were you supposed to do when the villain, while evil, did still have an assumedly normal family and home life?

Omi went with knocking on the door, met with odd remarks from the others until it opened. Jack stood in the doorway, loose clothes on and counting out cash without looking at them.

"Here's a twenty, enough the pizza and you can keep the- what the Heck are you four doing here?" He stood back, shoving the money back into his pocket and taking a defensive stance. No one answered and instead just took in how awkward of a moment it was before Raimundo stepped forward.

"Well. You haven't been at many of the wu hunts lately." He spoke with the confidence of someone who knew where he was going with his statement, despite not actually having any.

"Aw, so you missed me?" Jack gave a cheesy grin and fluttered his eyelashes before his face reverted back to a mild glare. "I just started senior year, losers, as much as I'd love to kick your butts, I need Jackbots, and to have Jackbots I need time to build Jackbots, and right now I'm fresh out of time. So no time, no Jackbots, no making you Xiaolin Losers regret ever messing with me." He leaned against the door frame while each monk stared at him wondering just how serious he actually was.

"How do we know you're not pulling the cloth over our faces?" Omi asked. His incorrect slang got a side glance from Raimundo, though he'd stopped correcting him at this point. Raimundo was almost positive these days he was messing it up on purpose.

"Aw Omi, would I ever lie to you?" Jack placed a hand to his chest, feigning hurt.

"Consistently, yes."

"Okay, fair enough- but this time I'm honest as can be." Jack shrugged and went back to his casual lean, slouching as he waited for whatever the monks would do. He doubted violence; they weren't usually ones to throw the first punch unless provoked, and Jack wasn't in the mood for cleaning up his living room. Plus, he was still out of Jackbots.

Raimundo leered at him, scanning his face and body language for any sign that he was lying. While Jack had grown up, matured a bit and calmed down as well, he was still Jack. He looked him in the eyes and let out a deep breath. They really were a stunning color, he wasn't sure if they were contacts or not but either way, they were amazing. He turned his head, gulping and blinking as he brought himself back to the topic at hand.

"I don't think he's lying. So here's another question: any idea where Wuya is?" Raimundo shoved his hands in his pockets, keeping his expression as neutral as he could. Jack raised an eyebrow and put one hand to his face.

"Mmm. Nah, haven't seen her for a while either. It's harder for her to burst in here without permission when she's all flesh, and I have extra security measures against the Heylin." Jack tapped the door frame, glancing upward at the ceiling where the site of thin compartment doors were just barely visible.

"Wait- Why them? Aren't you guys ya know, sorta same side?" Raimundo asked, giving a skeptical look.

"I mean technically we're all on the 'evil is rad' side, but also, Wuya's double crossed me, Chase tried to kill me a few times, Hannibal is just a plain old jerk, Ashley annoys me, I mean the only one I really like is Vlad and he's on the allowed in list. Plus we aren't like you guys, we're not exactly into the whole sharing, teams, feel good dreams nonsense." Jack shrugged. The monks glanced at each other before looking back to Jack. It felt like it'd taken a while for Jack to fully realize this. Especially the admittance of his own evil hero trying to kill him, more than once.

"So, no Wuya, and can we assume no Hannibal or Chase?" Raimundo followed up, and Jack nodded in response.

"Yup. My abode has been wrinkly, old villain free." Jack spread his arms out, standing in the middle of the doorway before putting his hands back in his pockets and giving a dull look to the monks. "Now, not that I haven't totally enjoyed this little interrogation, but are we done here?"

"Uh- yeah, sorry for bugging you, dude." It was a halfhearted apology, since Jack had more than once visited the monks unannounced and given a very loud interruption to whatever they'd been doing.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I know it must be hard going so long without seeing my gorgeous face, witnessing my stunning intellect, hearing my amazing voice-" Jack stood up straight as the monks turned to walk away, rolling their eyes at him. "You know it's rude to walk away while someone is talking!"

"Well, please do forgive us. Later, Jack." Raimundo opened the portal, giving Jack a final, cocky smirk and a two finger wave as he jumped through last and the portal closed behind him.

The monks all landed on soft sand, the sounds of the ocean quickly surrounding them, seagulls calling and the waves crashing against the shore. The sun was bright and beat down on them, the hot, dry air, veiled with the scent of the ocean.

"We're here because?" Kimiko looked to the water, tucking her hair behind her ear as the wind picked up.

"Ashley's condo. I'm not covering every base, but the ones I can see doing something without tagging along to another villain." Raimundo began trudging to a nearby condo.

"She is a lot smarter than anyone gives her credit for," Clay remarked. Ashley was a genius, genetically modified cats and all. He shrugged as Kimiko gave him a look, one eyebrow quirked.

"Her costume has a moving tail, which is equal parts creepy, impressive, and cheesy." Kimiko added, arms crossed. Whether this was a statement that was meant to agree or disagree with Clay's, none of them could be sure.

Making their way to the deck, they quickly spotted a woman on a beach chair, lounging with sunglasses on and a drink in her hand. The second Raimundo's shoes hit the first step of the porch, a small white kitten hopped in front of him, hissing at all of the monks. They all took an initial step back, grimacing at the ferocious and deceitfully small animal.

"What do you kiddies want?" Ashley called over the hissing, not doing any more to acknowledge their presence.

"We want to make sure you're not up to anything ya know, evil, illegal, your hobbies basically." Kimiko called back, a clear edge to her voice.

"I mean have there been reports of a cat dressed super villain running around and stealing stuff again? No. Have I been to any of your little magic thingy hunts? No again. I have been contempt sunbathing, working on my own projects, and making cat videos." Ashley crossed her legs, put her drink down and crossed her arms behind her head. "Trust me, if I wanted to do something like that, you'd know."

The others looked to Raimundo, who was once again thinking whether or not they could just trust the words of someone they, well, didn't trust. He looked to them.

"What do you guys think?" he muttered, keeping his voice low.

"I think she's a cheater, a liar, and a bad person, but she's also self-absorbed, and prefers cat naps to catnapping," Kimiko responded.

"She wouldn't get her hands dirty less she needed to," Clay added.

"And as she already seems to have most material things she desires, I feel it is unlikely she is planning anything at this current time," Omi said, adding his own in. Raimundo nodded, standing up straight.

"Looks like we're agreed then." He gave the cat one last glare before turning back around. They didn't get too far before they stopped again. Raimundo turned back around to face them.

"So, we have three villains who-knows-where, maybe together, maybe not. One stressed high schooler who is probably not lying, but it's Jack so I don't think he can ever truly be ruled out of causing trouble. Lastly Ashley, who is here and too busy tanning to come after wu or anything else that'd cause us trouble." Raimundo counted off their list. The afternoon felt like it had dragged on forever to them all but in reality they'd only been patrolling for maybe two hours.

"It'd be nice if the three missing villains weren't also the absolute worst," Kimiko commented, finally deciding to tie her hair back to keep the wind from whipping her in the face with it again.

"Predators lay low before they strike. If anyone's up to anythin, my money is on them. You think they're all workin together, though? Chase and Wuya, or Wuya and Hannibal maybe, but I can't really see Hannibal an Chase settin aside their uh, differences." Clay crossed his arms.

Omi nodded in agreement before putting a hand to his chin in thought. "We cannot forget that they all may be planning something, but separately," he said, and in response Raimundo cringed at the thought.

"Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll just end up running into each other and ruining everything for the other." He snorted, turning his hand over and watching the light glint off the tiger claws.

"That may very well be it. After all we've been told before, if one evil rules the world, another cannot." Omi responded, remembering what Jack had said to them as Wuya first regained her body, powers, and control of the world: If someone rules the world, only they can rule it, and anyone not by their side was out of luck.

"Anyone have any ideas just where any of them may be, though?" A long shot, but Raimundo didn't like the idea of just brushing the fact they were all just gone, and not even trying to think of any leads.

"Hannibal could be anywhere, and Wuya is more than likely with him or Chase; she's strong but doesn't have her full powers. She's smart enough to tag along to powerful people until she can fix that," Kimiko said. "The problem remains that any of them could be just about anywhere, though."

"Maybe we should contact Master Monk Guan?" Omi suggested. "I would not be surprised if he kept tabs on Chase Young." They were long rivals after all.

"Maybe. Wouldn't hurt to check." Before Raimundo could swipe the air and get them their one way ticket to Guan's temple, Kimiko's phone let out a short whistle. One they'd all grown to recognize as Dojo's text tone, and that usually meant one thing.

"Wu alert, we have to head back to the temple asap." Kimiko read off her screen before tucking her phone back into her pocket. Raimundo nodded, swiping at the air with a new location in mind. Master Monk Guan's could wait a bit. First they had to get whatever had revealed itself. And who knows, maybe someone would finally show up.

Thank you to my awesome beta reader, Dragonnutt! (If you haven't, I definitely recommend checking out her fics! Great stuff!)

So there's chapter two, finally some stuff is HAPPENING aren't you guys excited? I am. It's gonna get fun real soon.  
Next chapter promises to be interesting, at least if you ask me lol.


	3. Chapter 3

The air was growing dry and hot. Even as they soared through the sky, all of the monks could tell the next location wasn't going to be the most comfortable. After arriving back at the temple, they'd only grabbed the scroll before hoping on Dojo and heading off. Since they were already armed, they saw no point in wasting time to switch Wu.

"What Wu will we be searching for?" Omi looked over his shoulder to Kimiko, who'd at his question pulled the scroll from her bag and began to unravel it.

She read,"The Rooster Booster. It enhances the powers of other Shen Gon Wu." The scroll's figures demonstrated by showing the Orb of Tornami releasing a practical tsunami all at once verse its usual limits.

"That's gonna be interesting to experiment with. I wonder how some Wu can really be enhanced?" Clay pondered, a hand to his chin. The Third Arm Sash, would the length increase, or strength? Or what about the Tangle Web Comb? What of their elemental Shen Gon Wu, not only having their own powers but with an additional magic boost, what levels would they be able to unlock with this?

"Who knows. Guess it'll make for some interesting training sessions to come." Raimundo was just as interested as Clay, ever since the first time he had combined two Wu's powers, the combinations and fusions were one of his favorite parts of testing them. Especially as they aged and were given a bit more freedom to do so, fully understanding the items were not toys, but checking what they could do was smart for future strategy. Wildcards are entertaining, but not what's needed in a battle to keep the world safe.

"Well we'll get to find out soon enough." Kimiko tucked the scroll back into her purse and patted it gently. "It'll be in our hands, where it belongs. Also if the name wasn't an obvious enough clue, it apparently looks like a metal rooster." Her face turned unamused at the simplicity.

Dojo landed onto the soft, hot sand. "Ahh- hot, hot hot!" He yelped, quickly taking his smaller size the second everyone was off and making his way onto Clay's shoulders. "I do not need a case of belly burn while I'm already riddled with Wu induced allergies." He rubbed his stomach, now tinted in a light pink color, and sniffled pitifully.  
"Speaking of, any idea which direction we should head in?" Raimundo stepped closer to Clay, but before Dojo could answer, the sound of alarm vibrated off of the Danger Sneakers, and another voice called out to them.

"You should head home, monks. No point in wasting your time gettin' something that'll soon be ours." A bird swooped at them, faking out a grab for Dojo before flying towards a tall standing redhead and the small bean on her shoulder. Hannibal hopped onto Ying-Ying as she swooped close, landing in the sand and staring the monks down from their spot on the sandy hill. Raimundo glared at them, standing tall as he could. He wasn't sure if he was annoyed or relieved they'd finally shown back up. He settled for a bit of both, for now at least.

"You're the ones who need to back off!" Kimiko yelled back, fist raised and fire in her eyes. It ignited further as Wuya's condescending laugh was her first response.

"Really, after so many years and that's still the best you can do? How unsurprisingly unoriginal." She grinned as Kimiko's eye twitched. "Someone still hasn't learned very well how to control her temper either, tsk tsk. Do the Xiaolin really need a hot head like that fighting for them?" Before any of them could stop her, Kimiko had gone in for the first attack. Wuya stepped aside as Kimiko flipped into the air, aiming to land a kick on her. Kimiko was quick to flip again, this time anticipating Wuya's dodge and landing instead beside her, delivering a shorter flip and kick the moment she hit the ground. Her temper was still easy to push, but even in times that anger or frustration consumed her, Kimiko had learned to focus it.

Despite this, Wuya still avoided her rebound attack and gave a cocky grin. Kimiko threw a fiery punch, caught in Wuya's equally aflamed hand. The green and red mixed and grew, a powerful display as they continued to fight.

Raimundo took the time to focus on their other threat, despite his size was a far larger threat than anyone would expect. One that needed a constant eye, and one that had lost those eyes as Wuya had drawn them all to herself. A trick they should have expected, as gaining attention was one of Wuya's specialties.

Raimundo's eyes quickly searched the sky while Clay's scanned the sand, a high and low duo that fit perfectly for them.

"There!" Clay pointed forward. Yards away, Ying-Ying was flying low, Hannibal on her back as they searched for the Shen Gon Wu. Raimundo nodded, quickly running forward to follow them. Omi followed him, Clay staying behind to back up Kimiko incase she needed it.

Omi ran quicker, flipping over and in front of Hannibal to block his path. Raimundo continued up from behind, trying to land in an attack while they'd halted in front of Omi. Raimundo skidded to a stop, eyes glued to Hannibal as they quickly took off into the sky, using the little open space they had to gain elevation. Well, two could play at that game.  
Raimundo's own elemental power surged through him, and in seconds he was once again tailing Hannibal. If he could keep him busy up here, and Kimiko could keep Wuya busy on the ground, that left Omi, Clay, and Dojo plenty of time to find the Wu.

"Well well looks like it's us facing off again, Raimundo." Raimundo glared, eyes locked on Hannibal as they circled him.

It was a split second reaction, Ying-Ying swooping as Raimundo quickly dropped out of the way, lifting himself back up and spinning to face them again. He could easily keep this up, but it would only be a matter of time before Hannibal realized he was trying to stall him.

Raimundo leaned to the right, narrowly dodging another sharp taloned attack. He turned just in time to avoid their return and second attempt.

"Give it up Hannibal, I'm just too quick." Raimundo smirked at him, continuing to dodge and maneuver around everything Ying-Ying tried to do.

"You can only keep it up for so long, Raimundo. We both know you have a knack for slipping up." Raimundo sneered at Hannibal's mocking words and ducked out of the way.

"Yeah, but not when it's just this easy." Raimundo deliberately waited until the last second to move out of the way to the next attack, now floating on his side and grinning cockily at Hannibal. "See?" He said, getting back an upright position. Before Hannibal could give a searing response, a loud call from below drew their attention away from each other.

"The Wu is gone!" They heard Dojo yell. It took Raimundo a moment to spot him. Thankfully, he was the only bit of green on the landscape.

Hearing this, both Hannibal and Raimundo began heading for the ground, Raimundo headed straight down before turning, flying just above the ground and to what he could now see was the entrance to a cave, almost tucked away below the other rocks and sand.

Kimiko caught a sparking green fist in her hand, a match of physical strength as they pushed each other, both trying to land a blow

"Aw, it must stink that you're still powerless." Kimiko snapped, Shoving her weight forward and pushing Wuya backwards. She stepped in time to keep from falling, but was barely able to block Kimiko's flaming punch.

"You would know wouldn't you? All those years training and you're still about as hot as a flash light." Her lips twisted in an evil, sharp grin as Kimiko's shoulders tensed in anger, the adrenaline doing nothing to help her strength. "Face it, even when I barely have a fraction of my power, I'm still stronger than you could ever hope to be." Wuya said, taking the chance to kick Kimiko in the stomach and send her flying backwards into the sand. She shook her head, brushing the sand from her bangs and got to her feet, teeth clenched in fury. She jumped back, skidding through the fine sand as Wuya landed right where she'd been standing.

"I'm just surprised someone as ancient as you could keep up!" Kimiko smirked as Wuya's face twisted in offense, the sparks at her fingertips growing just a hair larger, shooting just a tad quicker.

Wuya rubbed her fingers together before running in for another punch. Kimiko ducked, hitting her in the gut with a burning punch. Wuya was shot back, leaving a path in the sand and her feet covered.

"Not bad for a matchstick." Wuya brushed away the ash from her dress, undamaged but smoking just a bit. Kimiko stood proud, her hands still ablaze.

"It-It's gone! The Wu is gone!" A loud call rang out around them, Wuya and Kimiko's heads snapped to the direction it came from. An almost completely hidden cave, in fact the only reason they spotted it was the smudge of green. Dojo slithered at the entrance, waving his arms.

Wuya and Kimiko looked at each other before bolting over, trying to beat the other to the cave.

Kimiko, in her haste pulled out the Star of Hanabi, shooting fireballs in front of Wuya's path to keep her back and away, allowing Kimiko to get to the cave first just as Raimundo flew in beside her.

-  
Omi, Clay and Dojo immediately split up, Dojo still on Clay's shoulders as they began searching for the Wu.

"It's in this... general direction, I think." Dojo scratched his head, squinting and looking into the vast distance. Clay continued on that way, waiting for anymore hints or better directions from Dojo.  
"Are we hot or cold, Dojo?" he asked, still trekking through the sand. Dojo hummed in distress, putting a hand to his chin.

"I... I'm not sure. I'm not getting the same increase of anything that I usually do when a Wu is nearby!" His brows furrowed in worry. "In fact, I'm not itchy at all! My Wu rash has vanished, but that only happens when the Wu is retrieved!" Dojo stretched his arms dramatically downward, gently smacking Clay on the cheek.

Clay pursed his lips and began looking around for where something could actually be hidden. Omi ran over to them, pointing behind him.

"I have found a hidden cave! Dojo, do you think it may be where the Shen Gon Wu is?" As they'd found no other reasonable place for it, Dojo tapped the top of his head, nodding slowly.

"A desert cave definitely sounds familiar. It's worth a shot!" Omi and Clay both nodded in agreement, and Omi lead the way back to the area. It was a cramped entrance, and didn't get too much wider as the cave went on. Omi and Clay were barely able to walk side by side as they continued through. Dojo slithered to Clay's other shoulder, looking at the walls and nodding fervently.

"Yes, yes this is definitely familiar. Long cave, lots of bugs, and the end should be right up ahead!" Along with, he truly hoped, the Wu. The cave was very dim, barely enough light to see in front of their faces.

"Uh, Dojo, can you give us a hand here? We don't have too great of vision in here." Clay asked.

"Oh, right!" Dojo held himself up on Clay's shoulders, shut his eyes tight. He opened them, and a soft lot was being emitted from them. He faced forward, lighting the rest of their now short path. Upon reaching the end, Dojo looked down and gasped loudly.

Omi and Clay stared in confusion, Dojo jumping from Clay's shoulders to the ground, looking at a rock and going around it quickly, worried and stunned.

"It's gone! Where did it go?!" He looked around in a panic.

"What do you mean it is gone?" Omi kneeled down, looking at the ground where Dojo was searching.

"The Wu! It was right here!" Dojo pointed to the rock, an outline of what looked like an odd shaped rooster was all that was left. "That space is too fresh for it to have been gone long either. Ohhh I knew something just wasn't right! Someone nabbed it while we were busy and searching." Dojo slithered past Omi and Clay, leaving them in the dark as he went to the entrance of the cave.

"It-it's gone! The Wu is gone!" He called out, looking to both Kimiko and Raimundo. It only took a moment before they both headed towards him.

Raimundo landed to his feet and they ran into the cave, picking up Dojo along the way.

They ran into the cave, desert crickets running to hide as their hard hitting steps echoed around them. Raimundo and Kimiko stopped right behind Omi and Clay, peering forward where Dojo started pointing. The cave ended, small with only a few rocks, ones that had obviously just been turned over. Bugs, sand, and them were all that the cave had now.

"Are you sure this is where Dashi hid it?" Kimiko looked at Dojo, who just nodded again.

"I know it, for sure. Look at that dirt print, that is definitely the Rooster Booster!" He pointed, and true to his words the indent in the dirt was shaped like an odd and sharp rooster.

"But who could have-" Raimundo started, staring at the spot where Dojo swore the Wu had once sat. Before his question could finish, a loud caw rang outside of the cave. They monks rushed to the exit, looking up to see a single crow flying away, cawing again.

"Well, looks like lizard breath took advantage of all your little distractions." Wuya sneered, glaring up at the bird. "Who knows how far he could be now too." Raimundo stared at her, his shoulders rose in frustration and anger. This was exactly what he was concerned about, getting messed over by some hot shot bad guy because they didn't keep close enough tabs on them.

"Well," she said, turning away from him and flicking her hair back over her shoulder, "maybe next time you kiddies will focus on the real objective, instead of letting yourselves get fooled like this." They could hear the cocky, snide, and condescending smile in her voice, despite losing out herself she could easily take joy in their failure. She took off, following Ying-Ying from below as Hannibal flew off, frustrated at the loss of another Wu.

Raimundo watched her go, anger broiling inside of him. His face red and teeth clenched, he pulled out the Tiger Claws, ripping across the air in one swift motion and jumping through the portal before anyone could even say anything. He landed hard on the ground of Guan's temple, sprinting forward and barely registering his teammates footsteps behind him. He was tired of waiting, and tired of being in the dark. If Guan had any idea where Chase was, and what he was up to, Raimundo needed to know- they all did.

He skidded to a stop, eyes wide with shock. Chase stood not twenty feet away, eyes closed as he practiced his Tai Chi. Raimundo's face twisted to fury at the clear fact Chase was ignoring him.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled, fists clenched as he barely held back from outright attacking him.

Chase's eyes opened and without stopping, he glanced at Raimundo. "Training," he stated simply, smooth and gentle motions continuing as Raimundo practically seethed.

"Training!? What do you think I am, a clown? I'm not here for jokes, Young, I'm here for answers." He took a step forward, causing Chase to finally stop and turn to face him completely.

"I assure you, Pedrosa, I am no comedian either. I'm here to train, drink tea, look at the temple gardens, and, reconnect with Guan." Raimundo grimaced in response. The face almost devoid of emotion that Chase wore was beyond frustrating to him.

"Reconnect? Like what, reconnect his spear with your guts!?" Raimundo shot a fiery and accusatory glance his way. Chase only huffed in response. He turned his head towards the entrance to the nearest building. Only seconds later, Guan was jogging forward, spear in hand. He scanned the area, eyes landing on Raimundo and the other monks, quickly relaxing and a soft, friendly smile taking the place of his battle ready expression.

"It is good to see you all again. What brings you to these temple grounds?" Guan lowered his weapon and stood tall, his eyes locked right in front of him.

"What do you think!? The two hundred pound pile of hair and jackassery over there!" Raimundo gestured, his frustrations reaching a peak as he stared bewildered at how Guan could even pretend to not know.

"Ah. Yes, what exactly did he do this time?" Guan side-eyed him. Chase raised an eyebrow, arms crossed as he looked back.

"I've been here the whole time, Guan. You know that." Chase smiled at him knowingly, and Guan quickly averted his eyes but didn't go back to meeting Raimundo's either.

"He's up to something, he's been missing for months now, suddenly the other two villains show up but he doesn't, and the newest Wu goes missing? Something reeks, and I think it's him." His eyes narrowed and he squared his shoulders, glaring directly at Chase who only met his eyes with an all too cocky expression.

"Raimundo, I understand you're frustrated, but," Guan paused, looking to Raimundo's furious face and to Chase's that he knew was egging him on in his own silent, infuriating way, "Chase has been with me for the last couple of months."

"Been with you? What, fighting? Captured? Holding another weapon hostage?" Guan took a deep breath, clearing his face of emotion as he stepped calmly forward.

"Raimundo. Please, you must control your anger. There is no threat here, I promise you that. I will explain everything as soon as we are inside." Behind him, Chase didn't even wait for acknowledgment before going inside. Raimundo's shoulders seized up, his eyes wide as he looked to Master Monk Guan. Stoic, cold, sturdy, and calm. His face gave no fear, or anger, and somehow made Raimundo feel as if he shouldn't hold them either. He took a calming breath, shoulders slouching to his sides. After another breath, he stood back tall. He may be calm, but he was no one's fool.

The other monks remained silent because of many factors: Chase being there, Raimundo's rage, Guan's side eye glances at Chase, and the speed of the awkward situation. It just left them no room for input, but at least now they could get some answers to their own questions as well.

Omi sniffed the air as they approached what he knew to be the common dining area of the temple. Jasmine tea was being brewed, and the table already had enough cups for all of them, along with sugar and milk. As if they'd been expecting this. That, he didn't like, and didn't trust.

They sat at the table, all scooting far from the last seat empty, save for Guan who remained still. A second later the tea poured. The kettle placed to the middle of the table, and Chase took his seat by Guan, ignoring the looks he'd been receiving since entering the room. As well as the large gap that was placed between himself and the monks. Not that he blamed them.

"So. Explaining?" Raimundo asked, twirling the spoon in his hands but not even bothering to touch the tea. He didn't trust it. He didn't trust anything that was happening here, and the way everyone else avoided their drinks, he knew he wasn't the only one.

Omi didn't touch anything in front of him. He kept his arms folded to his chest, eyes on Guan as they waited for answers.

Clay had taken a look at the tea. It seemed fine to him but even if it was safe, something about drinking the enemies, or maybe ex-enemies, tea just didn't sit right with him, so he'd taken to stirring it slowly and absent mindedly.

Kimiko had been the least subtle. The second the tea had been poured, she picked the cup up and shoved it far, far in front and away from herself. She'd glared, lips puckered in an invitation to question her actions, but none came. She relaxed back, though her arms remained crossed and her eyes shooting daggers.

"There are many details to this, so I will tell you what you need to hear. Months back, we decided we needed to talk, something that has been put off for fifteen hundred years. We went somewhere neither of us had been before. A neutral, or as it could be, area. Then we talked. About many things, and we traveled from one area to another, until it became going places we'd been before and enjoyed. Places we wanted to share with the other." For who knows how long, they'd wanted to show the other. "Our conversations came with us. And now we are here."

"So you two went on a two-month long date," Kimiko sniped at him. "Cool. Doesn't answer much." Guan was taken aback, the smallest hint of pink on his cheeks. Before he could respond, Chase interrupted.

"A month and a half, really. The first two weeks were mainly arguing. After that though it got better. Compromise, teamwork, resolution, all of those buzzwords they tell you in Xiaolin 101." At the growing hostility around him, including a frustrated look from Guan, Chase huffed and put his cup down. "I have reflected upon my past. Guan has as well. Through this we realize errors were made. And now we are trying to correct them, as much as we can." A short version of the long talks they had had, and missing the details that neither of them particularly wanted to discuss with the monks, especially right now.

"Is this your way of saying you're a good guy again? Because so not buying it!" Kimiko snapped.

"You're 'bout as good as nose hair in your soup." Clay nodded, putting the spoon beside his cup and giving a cold look toward the villain.

"Not good, per say. Just less outwardly terrible to you and the future of the world. Probably." Chase casually sipped his tea. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "That last bit was a joke." He paused again, "I'm in no way asking for forgiveness. Or even trust, from any of you. I suppose the most I'm looking for is a mild tolerance." To exist in the closest to peace that he could. He was still hashing out the details of his future, of what he'd do now, what he even wanted to do. The monks didn't look at him, to no surprise, but Guan did. He offered a reassuring smile, an immeasurable amount of pride hidden behind it. He turned back to the monks, deciding to change the subject now while they still could.

"Why did you come here, young ones?" he asked. Eyes on him, Raimundo shifted his position a bit and cleared his throat.

"We were on a Wu hunt, the only major player who didn't show up and could pull off a quick and quiet move like that is him. At least, the only one who wasn't being fought already." Raimundo said. Guan nodded, placing a hand to his chin.

"Well I can promise you, it wasn't him. He was not lying when he said he has been here for a while. Certainly all day." Guan still looked at Chase, who took another drink from his cup. He didn't acknowledge Guan's quick stare that teetered on the brink of being doubtful.

"Okay, well if he didn't take it, then who did? Jack is busy, plus he so wouldn't be able to pull it off. He'd wanna gloat the second he got his hands on the thing." Raimundo leaned on the table and putting his face into one propped up hand.

"Perhaps it was someone we had not previously thought of? We have faced many villains," Omi commented. Kimiko nodded in agreement.

"I don't know; plenty of 'em are no good, but how many were actually evil an' how many were just for hire, or specific circumstances?" Clay crossed his arms and peered at the table as if answers would engrave themselves on it if he looked hard enough.

Lazily waving his hand in the air, Raimundo asked, "What about Ashley? She's greedy, but she's also petty and may not have appreciated our visit earlier."

Kimiko hummed but shook her head. "No way. Selfish, petty, and rude she may be, but flying all the way to a desert just to take something she doesn't need isn't her style. Too much work for so little pay off." She began to tap her fingers against the table, the rhythmic clacking the only sound for a while as the monks continued to ponder just who was left that would actually want the Rooster Booster.

Clay remarked, "It's a basic enough Wu; it just boosts others up. It's not specific to any element." Despite all of them wanting the options narrowed down, he didn't want the fact that the Wu's own wide use made it a bit more difficult.

Raimundo exhaled sharply through his nose before standing up and stretching. "Well. Not that this hasn't just been an absolute treat." He gave a cheesy grin to Guan before turning on his heels. "I think we're going to head back to our temple and try and figure this out."

The others got up as well. Kimiko and Clay followed Raimundo from the room and back to the courtyard, but Omi stayed behind for a moment. He looked at Master Monk Guan and Chase in silence, before turning away. "Thank you for the tea." He ran to catch up with the other monks, leaving an empty tea cup behind.

Chase stared at it solemnly before wordlessly collecting it, along with the other cups that sat still full, and taking them to the sink.

-  
When they landed back on the soft and familiar grass of their home, Raimundo tucked the Tiger Claws away and turned to face his team.

"So. What do we make of… any of this?" His shoulders slumped slightly. He'd gone to Guan's for answers, and he guessed they got some, but in the end they just came out still confused about the Wu, and now about Chase as well.

"Well, we have no idea who could have taken the Wu, and apparently Chase and Guan are. Ugh." Kimiko shivered, wrapping her arms around herself at even the thought of them being anything other than hate-filled enemies. Raimundo grimaced, having very similar feelings about that situation.

"You think he might be tryin' to pull one over on Guan?" Clay asked. "Not to doubt his instincts or nothing, but Chase doesn't have the best track record when it comes to not bein' a manipulative little-"  
"I am also concerned for Master Monk Guan, but I believe he knows what he is doing. I trust him." Omi cut Clay off, and the other monk looked at him for a moment.

"Okay," Raimundo said, sighing he continued, "I think you're right, Omi. I still say we keep an eye out, but Master Monk Guan knows him right? And he has for centuries. If anyone could see through any stuff he tries to pull, it's Guan. But... that means we are now leadless to just who nabbed the Wu."

"It looks like all we can do right now is make sure we're ready for who or whatever did it." Kimiko said. "The Rooster Booster isn't much until it's mixed with another Wu, right? And all of the Wu are pretty much in our possession, except for what, the three Jack has? And Chase has the Serpent's Tail but, that's it." Not that she could imagine the Rooster Booster even doing much with it anyway. What could someone do there, become extra intangible?

Raimundo nodded, turning back and heading to the Wu vault. They'd lock these away for now. Keeping the Wu they had safe was top priority. Moths fluttered towards the lanterns lighting the stairwell while Raimundo carefully put back the Danger Sneakers, Tiger Claws, and Sword of the Storm. The others closed the drawers of their respective Wu before turning in unison and slumping against the wall, letting out deep, exhausted breaths.

"It never gets easy, does it?" Clay tipped his hat. The others shook their heads.

"And the second we think it might, it gets like five times harder." Raimundo yawned and stretched, back cracking before he went back to slouching, the bags under his eyes exaggerated in the dim light. "Well. It's what we signed up for." He pushed himself off of the wall and started walking up the stairs. He patted Clay's shoulder as he passed him. "Plus, we are pretty good at it. Even when it gets hard." He gave Clay a wink and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking up and waiting for the others to leave so he could relock the vault. A few moths fluttered in and out; he waved one away from his face before closing it.

They left the vault building, walking back to the courtyard. Fresh air and sunshine, even if it wouldn't actually help them figure anything out, would at least be better than being cooped up in a small room to figure it out.

Just as they stepped foot in the courtyard, another set of feet landed hard in front of them. Jack Spicer deactivated his heli-pack, glaring down the monks.

-  
Chapter Notes:  
Thank you again to Dragonnutt, my wonderful beta reader!  
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it took a while for certain reasons. But at the least it's a long chapter so, I hope that makes up for the wait!  
And here it is, the first ship of the fic: Chuan.


	4. Chapter 4

"What's with taking my Reversing Mirror, you jerks!?" He pointed at them, leaving each one of them a mix of confused and annoyed at the accusation. He puffed out his chest in an attempt to seem threatening.

Raimundo blinked, staring at Jack in slight bewilderment before asking, "What are you talking about, Jack?"

"My Reversing Mirror, safely tucked away in my lab, is now gone. Everyone else who knows Wu exist is a threat by my security system," Jack paused, "okay, except Ashley, but only to the first floor! Everywhere else she's barred from entry." He'd had to change that after an almost very unfortunate incident at one of his parents boring cocktail parties. Although, that one wasn't so boring.

Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "Jack, why would we steal your Wu? We'd just win it during some future showdown." She examined her nails in disinterest.

"Plus, if we stole a Wu from ya, wouldn't it make sense for us to take 'em all and not just one?" Clay pointed out. Jack kept glaring before slumping his shoulders.

"Yeah. Okay, that does make way more sense." He stood up straight again, crossing his arms with a sneer. "But then who did take it?"

Kimiko gave him a deadpan stare. "Don't you have security cameras?"

Jack tilted his head to the side, looking miffed. "Yeah, but something messed it up. All my footage since yesterday was blocked or fuzzy." His bottom lip jutted out into a pout. "Some stupid spider or something…" He trailed off.

Raimundo's brows furrowed in thought. First the Wu they'd hunted for went missing, now someone stealing one from Jack. The Wu weren't even well-linked either. They were just ones that affected others; what use would they be together? Raimundo ran his hand through his hair, tucking some behind his ear and exhaling slowly. He looked at Jack. "Look, we have no idea what happened or who took it, but if we find out. We'll give you a call."

Jack sneered at him, snorting and rolling his eyes. "Oh yeah, totally! I'll just sit back while you guys find and keep my hard-earned Wu. That sounds like a lovely and totally-going-to-happen idea." Jack hunched over, looking Raimundo right in the eyes. "Thanks for that offer, but no way. I'll be looking for it too."

Raimundo paused, blinking as Jack stared harder. "Well. You can stick around then?" Raimundo cleared his throat, ignoring Jack's own confused and slightly pink cheeks. "Might as well make sure you don't get in the way, ya know."

Jack huffed, crossing his arms. He bit the inside of his cheek, finally answering in a stutter. "F-Fine! I'll hang around and make sure you don't pull a fast one on me, and that you Xiaolin Losers don't screw it up." Jack stuck up his nose in strong, false bravado. Kimiko looked between Raimundo and Jack, shaking her head gently she continued walking to the temple gardens. Omi followed her, smiling at Jack as he passed him. Jack huffed again, turning and following them both as Raimundo and Clay stayed behind.

Clay looked at Raimundo, stoic as he'd been since Jack had accused them. "Why would you want him to stick around?"

Raimundo shrugged. "I mean, he's going to look anyway. At least this way we can make sure he doesn't mess us up, and that we get the Rooster Booster. I'm just taking the wild guess the same person nabbed both."

"I get that partner, but also, it's Jack. He's… Jack." Clay tipped his hat back and Raimundo tilted his head side to side.

"Yeah, but he's gotten better, right?" Raimundo looked to Clay who just stared deadpan at him.  
"Rai, buddy, he flooded my home. He left us for dead to giant spiders and lava. He made our worst fears come to life. There's a long list of stuff he's pulled."

Raimundo hummed and began walking to the others. "Yeah, well, it's only temporary, right? Besides, this way we keep an eye on him, too." This didn't stop him from wondering though, what reason did he actually have to let Jack stay? Maybe, it was that he wasn't really a threat anyway. Even if he'd gotten better the last few years he still wasn't really, much. Maybe it was just because of how quiet the last few months were? Or, maybe Omi and his "Everyone has good in them" shtick was rubbing off on him. Maybe he wanted to give Jack a chance. Though he wasn't exactly sure what the chance was for.

Kimiko looked up at them once they'd arrived. "You two were last. You have to explain to Jack why it couldn't have been Chase." She crossed her arms and leaned back against the tree. She'd already refused to relive the details of their past hour. Raimundo slouched, plopping onto the ground next to Omi.

He leaned forward, putting his head in his hand. "Well for one thing, you said he was on your security system's list."

Jack nodded but clicked his tongue smiling. "Chase is cool, though. If anyone could figure out a way around my system, it's him."

"Ah yes, I too remember how Chase was a total tech wiz, even working a webcam once. Wow." Raimundo replied monotonously and only smirking when Jack angrily huffed at him. "The other reason is that we already checked Chase out for our own mystery; he's cleared."

Jack snorted, placing his hands behind himself and leaning back. "Yeah, I'm so sure he spilled every detail to you losers. He's a master of evil; you think you can trust him?"

"No," Omi said, "But, we can trust Master Monk Guan… who he was with for the last couple of months."

"Big, buff, and bald!?" Jack's eyes widened, he sat up straight and stared at Omi in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me! He's like a million years old! Plus, didn't they hate each other?"

"You know he's only like… a few years older than Chase, right?" Kimiko raised an eyebrow, Jack just waved his hand in response. "And we thought they hated each other, too. Apparently, we were wrong." Kimiko stuck out her tongue in mild disgust.

"What's that mean though? Is he like," Jack's nose crinkled as he looked at all of them, "a good guy?"

Raimundo huffed and shot Jack an annoyed look, "What do we look like, his spokespeople?" he said, swiftly crossing his legs. "He is what he's always been: a pain in our ass."

Jack snorted, pointing at Raimundo "Yeah, you guys so have room to talk."

"Jack," Clay finally spoke, "this ain't the place for you to be runnin' your mouth either."  
Jack's hand drooped as he peered around at the four monks, all clearly miffed by his proclamation. "Yeah- well whatever! Days of our Xiaolin Lives aside, who else could have swiped my mirror then?"

Omi hummed, "While many villains would have other objectives for acquiring Shen Gon Wu, perhaps we must still visit them as possibilities?"

"Possibilities or not, unless they can disarm a security system with their brain, they couldn't get in without me at least knowing." Jack boasted, though the edge in his voice remained.

Raimundo rubbed his neck, "Well, what if they sent someone in for them? It wouldn't be the first time evil got hired help."

Kimiko sat up straight in realization. "Pandabubba!" She paused, hunching over again. "But why would he want the Reversing Mirror? He's all about profit."

"Or the Rooster Booster," Clay added. "Doesn't seem like either would have a good benefit to him. Guess it doesn't mean he's ruled out yet, though."

Raimundo tilted his head to the side, eyes shut in thought before speaking. "So, we have two missing Wu, both that just affect other Wu, and have no use without them. We have no leads as to who could be doing this, since Jack's security system is probably decent enough to know if someone at least came in," Raimundo smirked at Jack's pointed, pouty glare, "and anyone who cares about the Wu for the magic had an alibi for the Rooster Booster." Raimundo and Hannibal had been fighting, Kimiko and Wuya were matching fists, and Chase was otherwise preoccupied.

Suddenly, Clay's hat began bumping around, leaping right up into the air and off of his head. In its airborne moment, Dojo slithered from under it and right into Clay's outstretched hand. He twitched, wiggling a bit before looking at the Monks.

"Sorry to interrupt but- wait why is Jack here?" Dojo turned half way, staring back at Jack.  
Jack blinked, raising an eyebrow. "I've been here a while; where have you been?"

Dojo huffed, crossing his arms. "I chose to stay out of sight when we went looking for the Dragon Eater. And then uh. I fell asleep." Dojo rubbed the back of his head bashfully before shaking it quickly and turning back to the Monks. "That's not important now- what is is that we have another live one, and we gotta go!"

The monks got to their feet, already running back to the vault. Raimundo took the lead and quickly opened it before anyone, especially Jack, could catch up. "So we have like one Wu a week for two months, but now we have two in one day when we'd actually need to sit back and think?"

Dojo slithered onto his shoulders, nodding his head side to side. "Yeah, almost like someone else is making it happen, just so things move along right." Raimundo and Dojo both looked into space for a split second before Raimundo quickly went down the stairs. Omi and Kimiko followed, while Clay stood behind to keep someone with Jack.

Kimiko grabbed the Wu he requested, shutting the drawer with her forearm. "Dojo," She called to him, as Raimundo passed her up the stairs he hoped from his shoulders to hers, "Can you grab the scroll from my bag, so we'll know what to search for?"

Sliding down her arm and wiggling is way into her bag, Dojo popped back out a moment later, opening the scroll as Kimiko continued her way back up the stairs. "The Imo Gazer, point it at your target, and they'll fall straight asleep."

"Guess it won't work on me. I can't do anything straight," Jack muttered as the Monks ran by him. Hearing him, Raimundo snorted and mumbled a "same" on reflex, looking at Jack for a moment who just stared back blinking. Raimundo coughed, looking away and running back to the open area.

Dojo dropped the scroll back into Kimiko's bag and hit the ground, quickly growing to his full size. "All aboard Air Dojo!" He yelled, arms drawn out as the Monks began to climb on. "Let's get a move on, kiddies!"

Omi looked to Dojo, ushering Jack onto his back, "Why are you so energized all of the sudden?" He climbed up himself, sitting behind Jack who with great reluctance had let himself be set between Omi and Clay.

"I don't know! Sometimes Wu make me sleepy, sometimes itchy, sometimes even hairy! Guess this one made me feel five centuries younger and ready for action!" With that, Dojo finally took off in a bit of a quick jerk. Jack immediately put a hand to his mouth, groaning. Clay side-eyed him and held on tighter to his hat, not forgetting the last time Jack had ridden Dojo this way.  
Kimiko passed Clay his Wu, noticing Jack's growing green hue she asked, "You fly with that helipack all the time. How do you get this motion sick?"

Jack opened his mouth, but before he could answer Dojo lurched forward a bit, making Jack hunch over, groaning loudly. "The helipack is a smooth ride," Jack moaned, emphasizing smooth. "This guy and his damn undulating, I have no control and I feel like I'm on a boat."

"You get used to it." Raimundo called back from the front of the line of Monks. "Though I can't say I blame you right now." Raimundo barely finished his sentence before Dojo once again shot off in a bit of a different direction, just enough that everyone felt the sudden change.

Dojo's over enthusiastic flying would have been enough to make any of them sick, but once you fly through the Ying Yang world, not much else can really faze you. Only Jack was left, muttering on occasion of his thankfulness for his small breakfast.

Dojo finally landed onto soft, cool grass that was almost blue in color. Sliding off of him, the all immediately noticed the picturesque feeling of the area. It was so peaceful it almost seemed fake. The flowers were blooming, wafting gently in a cool breeze that swept around them. A brook was long and beautiful, water quickly rushing through and down the short waterfall a few yards away. They could see why a Wu designed to send someone into a deep sleep had been hidden there.

Kimiko stretched her arms after landing on the ground, "Which direction, Dojo?"

The second Jack had stumbled off of Dojo and half into Raimundo and Clay's arms, he'd shrunk to his more portable size and was looking around. His head turned with such speed that the Monks were worried he was going to hurt his neck.

"This way- Wait, no- Yes- wait!" Dojo skittered about quickly, changing his mind on direction before zipping off in his final decision. "This way, this way, this way!" He shouted. The Monks booked it, Clay and Raimundo dropping Jack as they followed Dojo.

It was a bit harder to keep up with Dojo, especially since this time around he didn't contrast as well with the landscape, but soon enough the entire group grinded to a halt.

They all stared ahead, but only Dojo had any real idea just who they were seeing. Tucked carefully between rocks, on a small island in the middle of the river, the Imo Gazer dully shone in the afternoon sun. On the other side of the river however, stood someone else. Someone Dojo had never expected to meet.

-

Thank you to my Beta reader Dragonnutt!

This chapter wasn't to action packed, but the next one promises to be.  
besides, long fics need character interactions and development just as much as they need action.


	5. Chapter 5

(TW: Bugs. Big Ass Bugs.)

Jack skid to a stop as he finally caught up to the others. He hunched over, catching his breath before looking at them. Every eye was wide and staring straight ahead. Jack, confused, followed their gazes, and his jaw dropped in shock.

They were tall, with four orange eyes and a shiny exoskeleton. The bug creature stood across the narrow river, head cocked to the side. Their face was hard to read, but their large eyes were unmistakably filled with sadistic pride.

"Wh-what is that thing!?" Jack yelled, pointing right ahead.

"Tsk tsk, what terrible manners." The creature spoke in a slow, deep tone. There was a low, quiet clicking in the back of their voice. "I know it's been a few years, but I still deserve the respect I once earned."

Kimiko stuck out her tongue in disgust. "That doesn't answer what you are. Other than an uncomfortably large cockroach."

"Too many legs for a cockroach, maybe some sorta hybrid with a spider though? Either way, not a pretty sight." Clay shrugged, making Kimiko smirk in their own confidence.

The creature snarled, calling attention back to themself. "I am Exagmal, the greatest magical being to walk the sands." They stood taller, revealing that what was originally assumed wings, was a cape. Leaf shaped and leading to a point at the bottom, it moved gently in the calm breeze.

"Anytime someone comes in braggin' like that, it just means trouble." Clay tipped his hat up a bit, staring Exagmal down with a distrusting stink eye.

Exagmal placed a hooked hand to their chest stretching their neck forward and looking right back at Clay with the same sadistic glee they'd had before. "How rude. I can't say you're wrong, but you really shouldn't judge like that. I simply want what I deserve."

Dojo starred forward, tugging at Clay's pants leg. "Careful cowboy, if the myth is right, they aren't just talking." Dojo was shaking, pointing his quaking claw forward. "They were said to be one of the worst terrors to sweep the world."

"A myth?" Exagmal sneered. "That vile little sorcerer ruins me and leaves me nothing but a story to scare children, and not even the children of this millenia. Well, that is their own mistake, and soon enough they'll fear me too." Exagmal's neck twisted just enough to make the monks cringe.

"Why exactly are you here?" Raimundo asked, stepping forward and trying to hide that he was still fairly disturbed.

Exagmal clicked, hunching over, their six clawed hands all taking a grip to the ground. They leaned forward, glossy eyes focused only on Raimundo. "Why, I'm here for the same reason you are, of course. A magical item is calling my name." With that they leapt forward, splitting the group who jumped out of the way. Exagmal looked at Dojo, hissing and laughing cruelly as he ducked back in fear.

They leapt again, leaving the group behind as they started to search for the Wu, taking joy in their head start.

The monks snapped out of their shock, squaring up they looked at each other before splitting up to find the Wu. Jack stood as he watched everyone run off in a different direction, head turning in confusion. He looked down to Dojo, who was still a bit shaken up. "So uh. Which way was it again?"

Dojo shook his head, staring up at Jack. Jack was untrustworthy, but if it came down to it, he also knew that there was a much greater evil, a much larger risk, if one of them didn't get it first.

"This way." Dojo quickly slithered in a different direction, followed closely by Jack. It wasn't long before they were being followed by another party. Jack looked back, groaning he picked up his pace and panted. He wasn't the fastest around but being chased by a giant bug could really motivate a guy.

Safety came in the form of Omi, leaping and landing a kick to Exagmal's chest and knocking them off course. They pushed themself off the ground, crouching and staring at Omi who stood poised to fight.

Omi glared at them. "Prepare for a most humiliating defeat!" Exagmal's eyes narrowed, and a clicking emanated from the back of their throat before they leaped towards him. Six claws, each glowing and giving off a thick, dry heat. Omi hopped backwards, dodging every hit until one grazed his arm. The cloth singed, and though no flame started there was still a hole in his robes, black and ashy at the edges. He didn't have more than a second to be astonished, having to continue ducking and jumping out of the way. He waited for an opening, any moment to strike and knock them back, but with six arms flying at him, each one timed perfectly to avoid such a weakness, he was having trouble. He backflipped, farther away, giving himself just enough time to pull out his own Wu.

"Orb of Tornami, water!" he called, echoing over the field. His voice was followed by the loud crashing of water, hitting Exagmal right on and sending them floating far off until the water finally settled. They coughed, standing to their full height and shooting a death glare Omi's way.

"You will pay for that, you insolent little fool." The air around their body grew hot enough to dry them off, the grass beneath them dying and burning to nothing. "I am not one to take such attacks lightly." Omi only held the Orb to his chest, ready to attack again.

Before either of them could make a move, Dojo swooped over in his full form, snatching Omi up in one clawed hand and lifting them all quickly into the air. The monks helped Omi up onto Dojo's back. Omi shook his head and looked at his friends and Jack, who clenched the Imo Gazer in his hands and tightly to his chest.

"Why did you pull me away? I was going to defeat them!" Omi held the Orb above his head before turning to the front as Dojo spoke.

"Kid, I love ya, I believe in ya, but that Orb doesn't stand a chance against Exagmal, not if even a single rumor is true." Dojo's brows furrowed.

Kimiko leaned forward, tapping away on her phone. "What rumors? I'm not finding any search results about Exagmal, at least not for a giant bug creature."

"You won't find this on any search engine." Dojo said "We've gotta go a bit more archaic."

Raimundo groaned, flopping onto his back. "Scrolls?"

"And a lot of them." Dojo closed his eyes. "I'm not sure if our temple will even have the right ones. We may have to look elsewhere."

It was a while before the finally landed, and none of them really wanted to be back where they were.

Guan ran outside, giving a confused, if not very concerned smile to the monks as they slid off of Dojo.

"Did something happen?" He eyed Jack, who pursed his lips and held tighter to the Imo Gazer.

Raimundo crossed his arms. "We ran into some trouble. You mind if we look through some scrolls? We need to do some research." Guan nodded, though still confused he turned and began leading them to the Temple's library.

Scrolls were stuffed into many shelves; some had popped out and lay closed on the floor. The small table inside had a stack of them still resting there, one left open.

"It's going to take forever to find anything in here." Kimiko turned around, staring at the tall ceiling and then back to Guan. "Is any of this stuff categorized?"

"Not physically. No one else has used this library in a very long time, I felt no need to write what I could remember for myself." Guan shrugged, still standing outside the doorway. Chase had joined him, in his curiosity over the new commotion. He looked over Guan's shoulder, seeing the monks along with Jack. When their eyes met, Jack quickly looked away, turning to stare intently at a shelf of old, dusty scrolls.

"Well then, have anything about uh, Exagmal?" Raimundo raised an eyebrow to Dojo, who nodded.

Guan and Chase both paused in the doorway, a silence swept over the room before Guan finally spoke.

"Exagmal?" he repeated. The monks nodded. "The great sorcerer of the desert?" They nodded again.

Chase leaned on the entryway. "Exagmal was just a tale told to children to scare them."

"They were nothing more than a myth." Guan added. The monks looked at each other before looking to the immortals.

"Well, we just met your myth. They're a jerk." Raimundo commented before sitting at the small table and slumping over, holding his head up in one hand. "So we need to find out what we can about them."

Guan hummed, walking in and to a smaller shelf, he tapped them quietly before pulling one out. "This may be all I have on them." He handed it to Clay, who carried it to the table, opened it, and unravelled the contents. "As I was under the impression they were nothing more than a campfire story, there is not much information on them here."

True to his word, the scroll only mentioned Exagmal a bit. Their grotesque appearance, a warning to avoid them, things you would see in a book about fake cryptids.

"Bug eyed, powerful magic user, tall. Ya know." Raimundo looked up from the scroll. "It leaves out any description of their nasty breath or their weird amount of drool. Maybe not horrors alone but they definitely added to the creep factor."

Kimiko rolled her eyes "Since that was a bust, where else can we go to find something about them?" she asked, crossing her arms. Jack coughed, stammering as all eyes went to him.

"Well, uh, someone else here has a pretty big library…" He trailed off. Every gaze followed his own, now landing on Chase who blinked and stood up straight.

"I don't know if I actually do have anything there. I won't deny the possibility…" The amount of books on Heylin magic, artifacts, and creatures were quite extensive. Many of which he'd found boring or useless and hadn't bothered to look into. "I can go and look."

"Wouldn't it be faster with more of us there?" Kimiko asked, though none of them exactly wanted to take a trip to the Citadel.

"Maybe it would, but I don't want you there, and I'm quite sure you do not want to be there." Chase looked at her as if daring her to challenge his statement. Her frown deepened, and though inside she fumed, she remained quiet. Guan walked back to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I will help him look. Do not worry, if there is anything on them there, we'll find it." Guan smiled reassuringly, though not many of them really felt any more sure. "In the meantime, I suggest finding others who could help you fight. Exagmal may have just been a horror story, but they were a very effective one." There was a look on both Guan and Chase's faces that told them there was no joking here. Guan, who knew how much they'd grown, still recommended they find others to fight at their side. There was no denying their next move: Recruitment.

The monks headed out, back to the courtyard to head back to their own temple and figure out their next moves. Clay nodded at Guan and Chase as he passed them, Kimiko offering a goodbye to Guan and walking on. Raimundo gave an indistinct wave and an undirected 'later'.

Lastly, Omi smiled at them both. "Good luck in your search," he said before following the others out. They watched the monks leave, only speaking once they were barely a dot in the sky.

Chase turned, heading back inside to gather anything they may need. "Why he is so ready to accept this, I will never understand."

Guan followed behind him, putting the few odds and ends of objects away. "Are you glad he has, somehow, not fully turned his back to you?"

Chase paused, keeping still but looking at Guan out of the corner of his eye. He exhaled, moving forward again. "I don't know. I don't see how he hasn't."

"I think," Guan started, this time walking closer and taking one of Chase's hands in his own. "It is because he has seen the you that I have. Who you once were, and even if you will never be that person again, he has still seen you as more than just the person who hurt him."

"Them." Chase corrected, closing his eyes to avoid looking at Guan.

Guan tilted Chase's head up, looking into his eyes when he finally opened them. "He knows that as well as you do."

Chase exhaled, parting from Guan and continuing on his way. "Let's go. We cannot waste any time." Guan followed behind him, and in moments they were gone.

"I can't believe this! That, big, shiny headed, dragon seller? Over me!" Jack flailed one arm wildly, as the other kept the Wu close to him. "What's that about?!"

Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Well, for one thing, Guan is maybe three years older than him, while Chase is, oh, fifteen hundred older than you? Plus, Guan didn't obsess over him."

"I don't obsess!" Jack whined, shoulders hunched and his face taking on a bright cherry red. "Maybe I used to get a little over-excited, but I never obsessed!" He emphasized, though the monks just shook their heads.

Raimundo hunched over a bit. "Look, Spicer, you can gripe all you want, but none of us are exactly keen on it either."

Jack leaned over, peering at him and raising an eyebrow. "What's got you so twisted? I would think getting one of the strongest, smartest, coolest-" Jack paused, catching his own trail before the monks could point it out. "I thought you'd be happy that he's on your side again?"

Raimundo snorted. "Oh yes. I am absolutely delighted, truly, got jollies right out the ears." His tone was dead, and other than his jaw his body remained completely still.

"He's a jerk," Kimiko butted in. "And I for one, will never see him as less than a giant jerk. The guy terrorized us and the world."

"And he tried to make Dojo into a lunch special." Clay patted Dojo on the back. "He's a rotten snake, and I ain't to keen on dancing 'round him just yet."

Omi frowned, looking up. "If he wishes to change his ways, I think it best to support it."

Raimundo grimaced, turning back and looking at Omi with mild irritation. "Dude, are you serious? He used you, he used Jermaine, he manipulated you-"

"I am well aware of what he has done," Omi cut him off sharply. "I am only pointing out that he is changing, and I much prefer him not on the Heylin side."

"You can't actually trust him! He's done nothing but lie and cheat, and then pretend he's some honorable dude."

"It is not a matter of trusting him; I trust Master Monk Guan." Omi crossed his arms, scowling back at Raimundo. "I also do not want him turning back to his old ways because of us rejecting any attempt he makes at helping us."

"Oh what, so if the dude is faking it, it's my fault now? Because he's a lying, cheating, villain?"

"Was."

They were both leaning in, almost touching. The tension and anger between them practically fogged the air around them.

Both heads snapped to look at Clay the moment he began speaking. "Raimundo's right, Omi. It ain't fair to blame us if he goes back to bein' a varmint. Cheetah can't change their spots."

Omi's mouth twitched. "He is not a varmint; he is a person."

Kimiko filed her nails absentmindedly. "Coulda fooled me," she muttered, looking to the side.

Omi's lips puckered as his glare shot over to Kimiko. "If you do not trust him, that is fine, but you could avoid driving him away."

Kimiko sat up, her voice dripping with a fake, gentle tone. "I don't think I can Omi, because," the tone dropped to her true irritation, "I want him driven away. Far, far away." Kimiko emphasized her last word by shoving her file into her bag so roughly that it almost stabbed a hole through the bottom.

Jack's eyes shifted quickly to each monk before he leaned forward a bit, holding up one index finger. "Wanna know what I think-?"

"No!" Each monk snapped at Jack, who hunched over in mild fear.

After what seemed like an eternity of furious silence, Dojo landed in front of the temple. The monks got off of him without a word, each ignoring everyone else in their own frustrated state. Jack stumbled down, barely catching himself as he landed on the grass. He ran to catch up with them, barely noticing as Dojo chose his shoulders to slither up to in his smaller form.

Omi stood in front of the vault, standing up straight and not bothering to look anyone's way. "It seems we will need help. I believe someone to go to would be Jermaine. He was once offered a position on our team before, and I believe he is still worthy."

"Dude probably hasn't fought for two years but sure, why not. See if he wants to join this extermination mission." Raimundo shrugged firmly and walked right past him. "Who else should we talk to?"

"Someone who knows magic; they were powerful. We need to find a way to counter it." Kimiko leaned against the wall.

"Chase isn't expert enough for you?" Jack's nose twitched as he scowled in Kimiko's direction. She grimaced back and turned her head away. "Fine then, how about wicked witch of the Heylin?"

"Are you kidding me? You want us to go to Wuya of all people?" Raimundo stared at him in bewilderment, deepening as Jack nodded.

"Look, she's evil, and mean, and also smells, but she knows magic. Plus she might even know something about this Exagmal that can help us." He shrugged. "I don't like the idea of working with her either, she's a double-crossing jerk, but the way those guys looked…" Jack peered down at the Imo Gazer, staring at one of the highlights as it reflected the setting sun. Guan, Dojo, Chase, each of them when seeing, or hearing that Exagmal was real… It could only mean this was a threat that was worth playing nice. If even just for a little bit.

Raimundo bit the inside of his lip, watching Jack for a moment before sighing. "I guess you're right. Might at least be able to ask her if she knows anything." Not the safest idea, but about all they had right now.

Omi huffed, following Raimundo as he opened the vault and walking down below. Raimundo opened one drawer, removing the Golden Tiger Claws. If he was to go to Wuya he'd have to find her, and that he guessed was going to be much easier said than done.

Omi opened a drawer a few steps lower. "If it is alright with you, I will take the Silver Manta Ray to retrieve Jermaine."

"Whatever." Raimundo shrugged, watching Omi remove said Wu.

Omi then turned to Raimundo, holding out the Orb of Tornami. "I do not know much about this enemy, but their magic was hot. I will bring my wudai weapon. If you are to travel, take this." Omi didn't look at him, even as Raimundo removed the Orb from his hands. He nodded solemnly in thanks before turning on his heel and walking back up the stairs.

After the vault closed, Omi was already walking to the open space. In a blink he was gone, flying through the air and heading away.

As he vanished, Raimundo looked to Kimiko and Clay. "I don't want to leave this place unguarded. Can you two stay here?"

"Whatever you say Rai, but are you sure you want to be the one to talk to Wuya?" Kimiko's brows furrowed as she stepped closer to him.

Raimundo shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded. "We have a history." Though that was the exact problem Kimiko was worried about, it still remained the strength Raimundo had that she and Clay did not. Maybe it'd help or maybe it'd make things worse, but he still wanted to be the one to go.

"If you're sure, Rai. We'll hold down the fort." Clay gave him a reassuring smile, which Raimundo softly returned. He then looked at Jack, arming himself with the Tiger Claws.

"Don't mess anything up too much, Spicer." He slashed the air, smirking as Jack yelled in offense.

Once he was gone, Kimiko looked at Jack. "So, are you going home or what?" she asked, though her face completely uninterested. Jack stammered, hands gently twisting around the Wu he still held.

Clay let out a deep breath, and in a small bit of mercy he spoke. "He better stay here; that giant bug saw him. If they were there for the Gazer they may wanna hunt him first to get it. Safest place is gonna be here." Jack's shoulders hunched up as Clay pointed out the danger he was in. He hadn't even thought of that. Kimiko raised an eyebrow as she looked at Clay. He just shrugged.

"Whatever. Let's set up a mat for him then." She began walking to the main temple, the boys following close behind her.

"I forgot about the bed mats. They still as uncomfortable as they were a couple years ago?" Jack tried to peer over Clay's shoulder so he could see them both, to no avail.

"You get used to it, if you sleep in it more than two nights." Clay answered, causing Jack to duck back down a bit.

"Erright." He murmured, fingers still fidgeting. It didn't take long to get Jack set up. He sat on the mat, watching Kimiko and Clay who were talking about who'd take the first watch of the night. Clay peeked at Jack and hummed. "Maybe we should put that thing in the vault…"

Jack sat up straight, staring at them in disbelief. "You just gave me a mat!"

"Not you, numbskull, the Wu!" Kimiko snapped, causing Jack to clutch the Imo Gazer to his chest harder.

"What? No way! Look, I may be okay with staying here, but I'm not handing this over that easy." Jack clutched it tighter.

Kimiko glared, placing her hands on her hips and leaning down to look at Jack. "You only found it because Dojo led you right to it!"

"He could have led one of you, too, if you hadn't all ditched him!" Jack pointed out. Kimiko's face dropped and she blinked, standing up straight and crossing her arms.

"Whatever, fine. But you need to be careful with that thing." One hand went to gently rub her eye in frustration.

Jack gave her a pointed glare and waved his arms, along with the Wu. "When am I not careful!?" The moment he finished his sentence, the loud clunk of metal hitting the wall called their attention to his side. Jack coughed, slowly putting the Wu back into his lap. "Whatever," he huffed.

Clay shook his head, walking past Jack and heading back to the courtyard. He stopped, glancing around, and in a second jumped backwards to avoid the large exo-skeletoned creature landing down where he once stood.

Exagmal leaned in."You're less oblivious than I expected."

Notes-

Thanks to my beta readers, Dragonnutt and Curi0usCanine!  
We've reached big reveal #1.: The Villain.  
Exagmal is an OC, details to come through the chapters.  
Good Stuff is a coming guys. I'm so excited.


	6. Chapter 6

Clay snarled at Exagmal, taking a defensive stance immediately. "You ain't all the talk you're up to be either." Exagmal clicked, hunching over, but still remaining above Clay. "How'd you find us anyhow?"

Exagmal's clicking increased in speed, their head tilted, almost looking at him upside down. "Isn't it obvious? Really, if you cannot figure something so simple out, maybe you are just a foolish child. Here I was hoping for at least a challenge." They hoped back, leaping onto one of the stone fixtures. "Yet your little group doesn't even seem like it is going to be fun to play with."

They casually ducked down, avoiding a kick from Kimiko who landed with her back towards them, her surprise attack failed. She turned quickly, ready to attack again. "Nice try," Exagmal said, pushing themself up to emphasize their condescending tone.

"Wasn't hard to know you were here the second the entire temple started to stink," Kimiko growled.

Exagmal barked out a laugh, staring her down. "What a tongue. Be a shame if someone ripped it out of that little head of yours." They clenched one hooked hand, drawing it close when Kimiko's face faltered for a second before returning to anger.

Clay shifted his weight, only a flinch from being able to send a boulder flying. "Why are you here?"

"Finally, you ask the important question." Four of Exagmal's hands spread out in dramatic exasperation. "Well, let us start with this. I need something you have."

Kimiko snorted, glaring at them. "A breath mint? Morals? Bug spray?"

Exagmal hissed, glaring right back at her. "Silence, you insolent little child. You are in no position to be insulting me." They placed all of their hands back in front of them, gripping the fixture again. "I need that Orb of Tornami the short one was using."

Clay frowned. "Why, and why would we ever hand it over to you?"

"Ohhh, I was hoping you'd ask. Well, let me say this was not my first stop, I was going to just take it from that little welp but he didn't have it." Exagmal tsked, and from behind their cape they pulled out the SIlver Manta Ray. "He had this but I am not interested in this useless thing."

Clay and KImiko stared at the Wu in horror, the proof that Exagmal had gotten to Omi and done who knows what. Clay's face twisted, and with one quick, firm motion he sent a boulder flying forward to Exagmal. Exagmal jumped barely dodging it as it shattered the fixture they once sat on. Before they could even remark, fireballs were flying in their direction. This time they barely flinched, instead catching each one in their hands before crushing them, extinguishing them as if they were nothing.

Kimiko stared at the smoke, before looking back at Exagmal's face and furiously yelling, "What did you do with Omi?!"

"Nothing much, yet. He is quite a fighter." Exagmal laughed again, a heart ripping cruelness in every moment. "I can't very well destroy my leverage though, can I?"

Clay's fists tightened as he glared harder and Kimiko thrusted her own fist forward a bit, sparking as she yelled back "What are you talking about?!"

Exagmal put their hands together, "A trade, little firefly. The pond skater for the Orb of Tornami." They ducked as a large boulder was hurled in their direction.

Clay grit his teeth, looking at them in utter disgust. "You dung rollin' pest!"

Kimiko's hands lit with bright flames, her hands clenched into tight fists. "We don't make deals with termites!" The fire illuminated her face in a dramatic red glow.

Exagmal looked at them both before laughing, loudly and cruely. The loud clicking and chirping behind their tone. "Do you think you have a choice?" They dragged out their words, hunching over and stretching out their neck to stare down at her.

Kimiko grimaced, shifting her weight to her back foot. Her hesitation only lasted a second before she leaped forward, aiming a punch for Exagmal's jaw. The fire around her fingers lashed quickly in the wind, hot and bright as her anger fueled her element.

The punch landed, Exagmal's neck twisting with a sickening crack, the fire twisting out around their face in a blaze. Kimiko smirked triumphantly, pulling back her fist. "I think we have a few other options."

Exagmal stood for a moment, before quickly turning their head back to Kimiko, no remnants of her hit remaining on their face. Astonished, Kimiko made a move to leap back before Exagmal could attack her. As she tried to jump, her leg was gripped tightly by two of Exagmal's arms, and she was sent flying into the temple wall. Smashing into it, she slumped over, unconscious.

Clay stared wide eyed, about to run to her side when Exagmal landed in front of him.

They looked at him, orange eyes shining and drool dripping from their teeth. "Now now, little scarab. You have a much more pressing matter to deal with." They slashed forward, the same magic from before emanating off of their clawed hands. Hot air brushed in front of Clay, as he'd barely backed away in time. He steadied himself, fists clenched as he glared at Exagmal.

Exagmal observed him, Clay's skin almost crawling as he could feel their analytical stare. They prowled around him, slowly. He kept his eye on them, carefully following their movements, watching for any sign that they'd change pace.

Exagmal curled one hand under their jaw. "Much slower than your counterparts, aren't you?" They stood up straighter, taller. "I suppose you'll pack a much stronger punch than the rest of them." They jumped towards him, fists still hot as they reached to strike. Clay ducked before sending his own fist upward into Exagmal's chin and knocking them back.

Exagmal stood, rubbing where he'd hit and looking at him. "I was right." They laughed.

Clay's fists tightened in anger. "That nasty shell can only take so many hits before it cracks." His knuckles went white as he stood ready to attack.

Exagmal sneered at him, a clicking coming from the back of their throat. "What large talk for someone so small."

They went in for another attack, watching Clay carefully as he avoided their fists. The fourth fist flying over his head was grabbed, Clay ignored the intense heat and in a swift motion pushed upward, a crack coming from their arm before he pushed harder and sent them flying over head. He rubbed his fingers to his palms, extinguishing some of the burning sensation while he watched Exagmal land and skid across the ground.

They turned quickly to face him and without breaking eye contact, snapped their arm back into place. Before they could run back at him, Clay sent a boulder their way. It cratered into where they once stood, and Exagmal looked at Clay with mock awe.

"Tell me, little scarab." They started, running to him, one fist quickly caught in his calloused hand, "How long can you stand all alone?" Their grin turned sadistic as his fist tightened over theirs. "Even the strongest structure needs pillars, does it not? And here you are, so unstable." They growled, shoulders hunching as Clay's arms slacked just a bit.

"Guess again, garbage breath!" In the doorway, Jack stood. His loud voice gave an impression of confidence that his quaking knees quickly dispelled, but nonetheless he stood holding the Imo Gazer in a tight grip. "Back off the cowboy!" Jack yelled.

Clay used the distraction to send a hard kick to Exagmal's chest, knocking them back. Exagmal glared at him, but their eyes quickly shifted to Jack instead, the new target and the item in his hands being of much more interest to them.

"So the cockroach chose to show his face, and he's even trying to fight. How exciting." The sarcasm dripped as thick as the drool running from their teeth. They eyed him, smirking as he shrank back a bit. "You really think you scare me with that toy?"

"A toy you were after." Clay pointed out. Exagmal ignored him, keeping their leering eyes on Jack.

Jack pointed the Imo gazer, and with a shout he activated it. Exagmal made no move to dodge the blast. It hit them dead on, they stepped back, shaking their head briefly before looking Jack right in the eye. "As I said. Nothing but a toy."

Jack's legs shook, and while his grip remained tight he retreated a bit into his shoulders as Exagmal stepped forward to him. Their advance was interrupted as they were knocked away by a chunk of the ground. Clay stood in silent fury, already preparing to hurl another.

Exagmal lifted themself from the ground, avoiding the second attack and leaped, landing behind him. "I will give you a day. Bring me the orb, and you will get your little friend back. I'm sure I don't need to tell you of the consequences if you refuse." Exagmal's voice clicked in mocking laughter, making Clay's rage boil inside him. "When you're ready to trade, follow the moths to find me."

There was a dry crack in the air, as if something short circuited behind him. Turning around, Clay saw nothing but open space. He glared before snapping his head in Kimiko's direction.  
Jack was kneeling beside her, awkwardly trying to make sure she was okay. He seemed reluctant to handle her too much, scared she'd awaken and sock him for coming too close. Clay jogged over, taking her into his arms and carrying her back inside with Jack in tow.

Clay set her down carefully, feeling her wrist. A slight calm washed over him, her pulse was fine, and she was breathing normally.

Jack put the Imo Gazer on the table beside them, and sat down a bit of a distance away. "So, uh. She alright?" He peeked over her, his shoulders relaxing a smidge when Clay nodded slightly.

"Long as she wakes up. I think she's taken harder hits, though; she'll be alright." Clay fiddled with his thumbs. "Jack, back there… Thanks."

Jack sat up straight, confused as his mind processed exactly what was happening. It took him a moment to realize Clay was genuinely thanking him, and for what. "Oh! Oh that- no problem! Just in a day's work." Jack leaned against the table, smirking cockily. "Not that it uh. Did much." He deflated a bit, using one finger to roll the Imo Gazer side to side.

Clay turned to face him. "It did enough."

Jack gave him a slight smile at the reassurance, and Clay nodded again before his attention was brought back to Kimiko. She was stirring, her eyes fluttering open and she looked up to Clay.

She blinked at him a few times, eyes adjusting to the light as the previous events rushed back into her mind. She sat up straight, staring at Clay in concern before groaning and taking hold of her head. Clay placed a hand on her shoulder to help steady her, carefully taking her closer as she leaned into him.

"Omi…" She muttered. "What happened- what are we going to do?"

"The nasty thing got away." He helped her lay back down. "Gave us the ultimatum. The Orb of Tornami for Omi." Clay kept his hand on her, stopping her from trying to sit up again.

She huffed, glaring at the ceiling. "So what, we just hand over what that dirt eater wants?" Kimiko's fists tightened, asking the question despite knowing the answer. They had no choice, not if they wanted Omi back.

Raimundo's feet landed on soft grass. He wasn't sure why he'd come here. Why did he think she'd be here, of all the places in the world she could go. He supposed it just felt like the place to start, where everything really began.

He stared over the city of Rio, the sun low on the horizon, the morning waves washing in an out against the beach that stretched as far as he could see. He took a deep breath, the air was calm, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he felt a bit of it too. Or he did, until he heard footsteps approaching him.

"So you come here to think all the time, or just when you have fights with your friends?" Wuya crept behind him, acting as if they were old companions reminiscing.

Raimundo's face fell. He side-eyed her but didn't turn around. "You come here to think, or just to be creepy everytime I show up?" He shoved the Golden Tiger Claws into his pockets.

Wuya hummed, crossing her arms. "Word in the sky is that you've run into a new friend. I know those other two are useless, so I could only assume you'd want to find me." She tapped her fingers against her forearm.

Raimundo frowned, unsure why the statement bothered him that much. He finally turned, facing her head on, his face full of doubt. "Why would you want me to find you?"

Wuya smirked, moving to tap her fingers together. "Don't I deserve to have my secrets?" She smiled with faux innocence, face dropping when Raimundo scoffed. "Fine. I'm not exactly fond of this overgrown garden pest. Plus I think we may be able to make a deal-" she started, but was quickly cut off.

"I don't make deals with you anymore." Raimundo spoke coldly, glare afixed on Wuya.  
She pouted at him. "Won't even hear my offer, how rude can you be?" She fluffed her hair, placing a hand on her hip. "Did you think you'd get something for nothing? You know that isn't how that works."

Raimundo paused. "What do you want?" He finally said, though his tone reluctant.

Wuya grinned at him, waving her hand casually. "Simple, simple- I want my powers back."

Raimundo's shoulders tensed, and he stared at her in anger. "You know that isn't happening. Even if it was somehow worth it, I'm not the one who's got them on hold."

Wuya pursed her lips, tapping her finger to her cheek. "Yes, but that one is on your side now, isn't he?" She stepped forward, taking Raimundo's chin in her hand and ignoring his disgusted face as she spoke. "Besides, I'm not just offering information. I'm offering a solution." She grinned slyly as Raimundo's face faltered for a moment, intrigued by her words. She pet his hair, letting out a breathy laugh as he backed away from her.

He squared his shoulders, glaring her down. "Not interested."

"You clearly are. Why else would you be here?" She tilted her head, watching him like a snake about to strike. "Don't you trust me, Raimundo?" She cooed sarcastically. "Or do you just not trust anyone? Not me, not Chase, not even your best friend." Her smirk turned sadistic when Raimundo's face twisted to fury.

"You aren't one to be talking about trust issues." He glared harder, half hoping he'd develop laser eyes mid-sentence.

Wuya hummed, her smile remaining. "I'm not the one questioning my friend's judgement, am I?"  
"Of course not. You'd need friends to do that." Raimundo muttered.

Wuya's mouth twitched and her eyes narrowed, but her smile remained. "Cheeky. Now about getting dragon breath to give me my powers back…"

"Look," Raimundo snapped, ice hanging from his words and gaze. "Whatever troubles you two have, I don't care. I'm not your couples counselor, and I'm not about to play middle man to get you the powers we're all better off without."

Wuya crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow and watching him carefully. "So quick to find me, so quick to deny my help. You really don't have any idea what you're doing, do you?"

Raimundo seethed, his anger reaching its boiling point. He took a sharp breath and slashed the air with the Golden Tiger Claws.

Wuya stood behind him as the vortex sucked the air around them. "Just as I thought."

And he was gone.

Raimundo had his eyes closed as he landed at the temple, taking a moment to collect himself. He hadn't been gone long; he knew Omi wouldn't be back yet.

He still wasn't prepared for what he saw: rubble, rock and shambles, the grounds torn up. His gut twisted. He looked around, trying to take it all in but barely able to process it.

He his eyes snapped to Jack at the entrance to the temple. He looked frazzled and visibly relieved when he saw Raimundo's face, as if he'd feared it'd be someone else.

Raimundo didn't move, still frozen in place. "Jack." The rest of his words caught in his throat. Jack motioned for him to follow.

"It's a long story, uh, the cowboy will probably do a better job with it." He was holding something back; Raimundo could feel that there was so much more than just a ruined statue.

He finally got his legs to move, they were reluctant and heavy, wanting to avoid whatever was coming. The air felt thick, dirty and heavy like used rags.

He followed Jack silently, shocked as he saw Kimiko laying on the mat, an ice pack on her head.  
She looked at him and sat up again, the bag falling into her lap. "Rai!" She exclaimed before holding her head. Raimundo stared at her in shock before kneeling beside her, carefully placing the ice pack into her hands.

Clay sat up as well, having been leaning against the wall waiting for his return. He pushed himself off the ground, standing up and walking closer to them. Raimundo stared up at him, turmoil etched on his face.

Clay stated slowly, as if it wasn't obvious. "We had a visitor."

Raimundo looked to him before glancing back at Kimiko. "Is everyone okay?"

"Jack's scratchless, I've just got a bit of a burn on my hands, and Kimiko's okay. A nasty bump on her head, but doesn't look like anything serious." He put his hands in his pockets.

Raimundo's shoulders slumped in relief, but his face went back to concern when he saw Clay's.  
"What aren't you telling me?" Raimundo stared at him.

Clay frowned deeply. "They got Omi." He pulled the Silver Manta Ray out. "They want to trade for him. Omi for the Orb of Tornami."

Raimundo froze, staring wide-eyed at the Silver Manta Ray. Everything was slow and trying to move was like wading through pudding. Clay kneeled down, placing a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly the world was moving again. Raimundo wished it wasn't. Clay told him the whole story, the fight, the conditions, everything.

Clay looked at him solemnly. "They gave us a day. We need to make a choice."

Raimundo looked to the floor. "What choice is there?" He pulled the Orb of Tornami from his robes. "We have to make the trade."

No one wanted to disagree. How could any of them say no to saving Omi? How could they try and bring up any counterpoints, when the definite consequence of refusing the trade was his life?

Finally, Jack's voice cut the silence "Can't you guys do some, sneaky saving maneuver or something? Swoop in and save the short stack?" He said, though the harsh eyes that landed on him almost made him regret it. "I'm just saying, it's not like you losers to just give in so easy." He trailed off, looking Raimundo in the eyes.

Rai's stare softened a bit, he turned his head to stare into the Orb of Tornami. "It's not like I want to just hand it over, but what else do we do? We don't know where the thing is, we have to be lead there, and I'm sure they're gonna be informed about our arrival. They'll know who's there and what we're doing at all times." Raimundo huffed, the stress and worry taking his breath away. "I know, we need more of a plan than just handing it over, but I'm making the fact that we are going for the deal clear now. We aren't going to even risk losing Omi like this." He stared harder at the Orb until a hand was placed on his other shoulder. Kimiko smiled at him supportively.

From his other side, Clay pushed himself from the ground. "We'll figure out a plan, but if ya don't mind me sayin' so: First thing we should do is get Jermaine, an' then we'll let Master Monk Guan know what happened." Knowing from his firsthand fight that Exagmal had treated his hits like a game, they really were going to need all of the help they could get.

Raimundo nodded, pulling out the Golden Tiger Claws. "We should go together." Raimundo didn't look at any of them, the statement said everything: He didn't want another attack to happen. He didn't want to lose anyone else. "You too, Jack."

Jack, who'd been standing awkwardly to the side as they spoke straightened up his posture. "O-Of course I'm coming! You think I'd let you Xiaolin dorks leave me behind?" Raimundo rolled his eyes, but internally grateful for the banter. It made things almost feel normal.

"You okay to travel, Kim?" He glanced her way. Kimiko waved her hand, holding the ice to her head.

"Don't worry about me; it takes more than a headache to keep me down." She grinned, carefully pushing herself off of the mat. She winced at the movement, and the dizzy feeling it caused, but she stood sturdy. Raimundo nodded at her, turning to cut the air, a purple rip now swirling in front of him. He stared into it, looking behind him one last time before jumping through.

First stop: New York.


	7. Chapter 7

It was early morning. The city was by no means asleep, but there was a slight calm to it. A drizzle poured from the sky, wettening the hard concrete. Raimundo stowed the Golden Tiger Claws away again, looking at the towering building in front of them. It wasn't fancy, a simple rectangle of decent sized apartments, a bit worn but well maintained. Balconies with plants and sparse chairs, as well as a few people who'd forgotten to bring in towels lined the outer wall.  
Raimundo frowned as he stared forward, peering at each balcony. "We have a problem." He turned his head to look at the others.

Kimiko looked at him flatly. "You have no idea which apartment is his, do you?"

"Not a clue. Not like I exactly come to see him all the time." In fact, the only times Raimundo had seen Jermaine were the times Omi had brought him back to the temple, and those were far and few between.

Kimiko sighed, stepping up the concrete stairs and walking into the lobby of the building, mainly to get out of the rain. "Luckily for you, I do know his address."

"Only cause Omi asked you to help him mail stuff." Kimiko eyed the long line of buttons, reaching to press one when Clay placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Y'all are forgettin' somethin': It is five thirty in the morning here." He said.

Kimiko lowered her arm "Er- right." She moved to pull her phone from her purse. "I can call him first then? At least that way his moms won't wake up." She dialed quickly, holding the phone to her ear. To her surprise, it only rang once before she was met with a hasty hello.

"Kimiko?" Her eyebrows furrowed at his tone; he was obviously worried. "Kimiko, is everything alright?"

She took a breath, "Yeah- wait, no. No things aren't okay. We're downstairs. Could you-?" Before she'd even finished, a slight buzzing noise emanated from the speaker in front of them.

"Come on up. Careful though, my mom is still asleep." He hung up, leaving them to head into the elevator and wait out the awkward few moments of anxious silence.

Jermaine was waiting by the door, ushering them in and to his room before anyone could make a peep. Sliding his door closed, he moved to take a seat on his bed.

"Sorry, mom already went to work, but Sery is still sleeping." He rested his arms on his lap. "So not that I don't enjoy five a.m. visits, but why are you here? Where's Omi? Man called me over an hour ago saying he was on his way, some big important mission, never showed up."

Jermaine's gaze finally met theirs, and his face fell immediately. Jermaine's eyes locked on Raimundo as he began to speak.

"Something," Raimundo started, pushing his hair back and letting out a deep sigh, "Someone. Took him."

Jermaine stared at him, eyebrows furrowed, mouth open a bit in confusion. "Who took him? What do you mean, took him?!"

Clay stepped forward to explain, frowning as he watched Jermaine's expression twist around confusion, fear, and anger.

"So some giant nasty bug took him? An' now it's his life for that Orb of Tornami?" Jermaine's arms slacked into his lap, he stared at Clay as he processed everything he'd been told. "What are we still doing here then!? We have to get him- you are making this trade right?" Jermaine looked at Raimundo.

Rai let out a deep breath, but he nodded. "We don't have much choice. If I think of a better plan we'll go with it, but we need Omi a lot more than we need this." Raimundo twisted the orb in his hands.

Jack coughed, finally speaking, ignoring the look of distrust Jermaine shot his way. "Not that short stack isn't a priority, but… Look, whatever they want with the Wu can't be good news."

Clay shuffled uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with the others. "Hate to say it, but he's right. They made it clear they didn't want any other Wu, an if they're just wantin' that one… They've got a plan an' I don't think we're gonna like it."

Jermaine huffed, standing up and surveying everyone around him. "So what are you saying? Leave Omi for dead?" Jack tried to cut in, but Jermaine continued. "It doesn't matter what that stupid thing's plan is. You guys have beaten bigger, badder, and uglier before. You'll do it again, with Omi."

Raimundo put the Orb of Tornami away again. "We."

Jermaine paused. "Right. We'll do it." His determination did well to hide the sudden anxiety he felt. He'd fought before, of course, but the last person he fought at such stakes was Omi. The last time he had such a deep involvement with magic, he was eleven and swept up in a lie. The realization dawned above him: this was much more serious, much more dangerous, and just as confusing as it was before.

"Look," Raimundo started, "you don't have the training we do. Hell, you don't even have the experience Jack does." Jermaine raised an eyebrow at this incredibly dejecting motivational speech. "But Omi trusts you. Plus, every other time you get dragged into this, you've picked it up like it was nothing." Jermaine looked away, past words of praise echoing in his head. _Fastest learner he'd ever seen._ He glared at the wall, tilting his head and letting out a huff of breath.

"You know I'm not about to leave Omi hanging." His fists clenched in his pockets. He pushed the doubt, the uncertainty, the fear, all straight down. He didn't have time for that now.  
One scrawled note of explanation left on Jermaine's door later, they were off again. Clay peered around, seeing they'd landed back at their own temple, he looked to Raimundo with an eyebrow raised.

"Weren't we gonna get some more help first?" he asked.

Raimundo shifted his head side to side, lips pursed as he searched for the best way to explain himself. "I don't know if it's the best time to uh, recruit them." He sent what he was hoping was a subtle look Jermaine's way, but to his dismay he caught on.

"Recruit who? Not like I got any beef with anyone around here." The silence that followed felt like it lasted hours, but only seconds passed before Jermaine spoke again "What?"

Kimiko wiped the nervous look from her face, taking a short breath and stepping forward. "There was some…" She paused, looking to the side before taking another short breath.

"Development." She paused again, knowing that she was delaying the inevitable, and in all of their eyes understandable, reaction. "Chase is… Well, he isn't good. But he's, I guess, helping us?" She still wasn't sure where any of that had landed, or where Chase actually stood. She just

knew he hadn't tried to kill them for months and was now searching his library for information on Exagmal.

Jermaine stared at her before looking around, confused and almost furious. "You've gotta be kidding me." They shook their heads, Jack with almost the same amount of disappointment that Jermaine was feeling, though for entirely different reasons. "You mean that manipulative, foul-breathed monster is... a good guy? And you're all buying it!?"

Raimundo held up his hands in defense. "We aren't buying anything, man. Look, the only reason we would even consider it is because he's got some pretty trustworthy backup on his side." Raimundo avoided mentioning that Omi too, while wary, was open to giving Chase a chance. Partly because he didn't want to cause Jermaine more frustration, and partly because remembering that the last conversation they'd had was a fight on the very subject. "Look, we aren't going to be getting him anytime soon. Omi is way more important, I'm thinking we make the trade before we see if they found anything."

Jermaine gave off his displeasure in a sour expression, but he remained silent. He didn't like it, the idea of going near Chase at all. He didn't trust him on any level, other than trusting he'd turn around and be a two faced snake again. He'd played this good game, this noble teacher before, with warm words and promises that Jermaine fell right into. Looking back on it, thinking of the entrance to his citadel, the cold armor, the entire vibe he gave off… He should have known. Something stopped him, skewed his vision and common sense. The same reason that now he was trying to push all of this from his thoughts: Omi.

With that, his frustration was shoved aside, into a corner of his mind to be dealt with later. At least that's what he always told himself.

Jermaine looked up, expression calm again as he asked, "So how do we find this creep anyway?"

Clay looked to a nearby lamp, moths fluttering around it gently. "Apparently, we follow the moths. They'll lead us to wherever Exagmal's wantin' to make the trade."

Jermaine looked at him incredulously. "What is this, Harry Potter?"

Jack snorted. "Well, I'm pretty sure they're going to try to eat us so, yeah. Pretty much. Just like Harry Potter: Magic, giant bugs, Omi is there." Jack peered around during the moment of silence. "Okay, not ready for jokes yet. Got it."

Kimiko out a deep breath, side-eyeing Jack before turning her head to Raimundo. "If we're following something, I'm getting Dojo. We can't fast travel there." Plus, while they all hoped things would at least not go terribly, it didn't mean a bit of extra firepower wasn't a good idea.  
Raimundo nodded, watching her go back into the temple to find him, leaving the boys alone to wait in the tense quiet.

Clay looked to Jermaine, whose shoulders were squared, stiff with stress. "Wish we could see you on better circumstances." He said, wanting to cut the silence. Jermaine huffed a quick breath, giving a short, forced smile. Not that he didn't agree; of course he did. He just wasn't one for small talk, especially not right now.

Kimiko rushed back out, Dojo slithering behind her. He was barely out of the temple as he began to shift sizes. Raimundo turned to the lantern, watching as the swarm of moths that fluttered around it increased in size. His eyes narrowed, he took a step closer to it.

The glare he held to the moths, and the stern, cold way he said to them, "Lead us to Exagmal," would have been much odder out of context.

The swarm fluttered quickly around the lamp before shooting in front of him, past his face and into the sky. Raimundo watched wide-eyed, running towards Dojo and shooting himself off the ground and onto his back just as the others had climbed there way on. Dojo wasted no time in taking off, going at a speed that knocked Jermaine back into Clay's chest.

Clay's hands held firmly on his shoulders, helping him back to a sitting position. "Careful there- it can take a while to get used to the turbulence."

Jack, who'd only kept his position because of Raimundo's hand on his back, steadying him as he hunched over, nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It sucks." He groaned, hand in front of his mouth and eyes shut.

Jermaine leaned his weight forward onto his hands. "Yeah- thanks." He looked to the side, watching as they went higher and higher, the mountains below shrinking. He took a deep breath, the ground was so far now. He'd flown before on planes, and even with Dojo, but this was different. This wasn't a leisurely flight back to New York. This was, faster, scarier, following behind a group of moths to save his best friend. Jermaine's stomach dropped, he felt all the way back to the ground below, when the nagging voice in the back of his mind wondered if there was even still anyone to save.

It was a long flight, few words shared as they soared through the clouds. No one wanted to distract Dojo, who's was so focused on keeping the trail that he'd narrowly avoided a few flocks of geese. No one wanted to voice what they were thinking either, the lingering fear, the dreadful, thick worry that gunked up any words they could think to say.

Raimundo simmered. While his face was stoic, his stomach was knotting. Guilt, heavy and cold, twisted in his stomach. Clawing at the back of his mind, reminding him he'd let Omi go alone. He'd fought with him, upset him, and let him go alone when someone who was clearly powerful was just anywhere. He should have seen this coming. He kept Clay and Kimiko at the temple for protection; why didn't he think to send someone with Omi too? Raimundo blinked, face actually relaxing, and the tight fists he hadn't even noticed he'd balled his hands into loosening. He'd been shaking. He now realized as while they still moved, he felt like his own body had stilled.

Raimundo glanced down to see a hand on his shoulder, the nails long and bright pink. He followed the arm and saw Kimiko smiling at him reassuringly. It was soft, her eyes as sad and worried as anyone else's, but still she offered what comfort she could. He closed his eyes, sighing a bit, wishing that comfort would help him right now, but he knew it wouldn't. Nothing would help until he saw Omi.

Finally, they began their descent. Beneath them a sandy, vast desert stretched for miles around. The only difference lay below them, right where the mouths were heading. Odd shaped cliffs and a hive-like set of caves, the only thing out of place.

Dojo followed the moths through narrowing caves, traveling deeper and deeper underground. "Hold tight kids, this may get bumpy!" He called back, looking ahead and seeing the twisting caverns. Jack gulped, leaning forward and wrapping his arms best he could around Dojo's back, closing his eyes to prevent having to see any of what was about to happen. Jermaine hunched over, noticing quickly that the others only tightened their grips and legs. He chastised himself inwardly for worrying so much, but the quick twist that interrupted his self doubt brought him back to the reality, that he'd never flown like this before.

Calling it bumpy was an understatement, by the end all of them were ducked down, hunched over to avoid being taken out or beheaded by the increasingly narrow and roughly walled caves.

Finally they came upon a larger opening, a rounded room, the only light now were multiple, small torches place along the walls. The swarm disbursed once they entered, scattering across the room and around the torches. In the shock of the sudden end, Dojo jerked back, doing his best to stop before crashing into the wall. He turned, skidding close to the side and spiraling carefully to the ground, landing a bit hard and with a huff.

Cautiously, the monks slid off of Dojo. Jack and Jermaine were just as nervous, but Jack held his fists to his chest, hunched over in worry, eyes darting across the room. Jermaine stood close to Dojo. If they did have to fight, he worried that he wouldn't be strong enough this time. It had been too long. He couldn't keep his own against something that took Omi down. Something that none of them, with daily training, years of fighting and experience, could hold up against easy. It wasn't until Jermaine spotted him that he even got into a defensive stance.

Bloodied, bruised, and a tear through his robe's sleeve, revealing just a bit of what was clearly a large gash. Omi sat, far ahead of them, elevated by a few of the rock structures that made up the floor. He wasn't stirring, a twang of worry scrunching in Jermaine's chest, flourishing into anger as a deep, cracking voice spoke to them.

Exagmal landed hard only a few feet from where Omi sat, standing tall they looked down on them. "He's alive. Do not worry for that."

Raimundo didn't drop his hands, only standing taller in the face of what he knew was a cheap intimidation tactic. "We brought our side of the deal. Give us Omi, now."

Exagmal snapped one clawed hand, a faint glow around Omi as he was roughly lifted into the air and held high above. "The Orb, if you would. Then I will let him go."

Raimundo stared in awe at Omi's height, head snapping back down to glare at Exagmal. Without averting his eyes, Raimundo took the Orb of Tornami out. "Take it." He demanded coldly.

Exagmal tilted their head. "Throw it." They said it as if they were telling Raimundo to toss them a snack, or their car keys. Raimundo frowned furiously, throwing the Orb high into the air. Exagmal reached out, two of their hands grabbing hold of it and bringing it close to them. Their mouth turned up just a bit, a dark smirk on their face as they turned their head to look up at Omi.  
"As promised." With a snap, the magic around Omi disappeared, and he began plummeting towards the ground. Everyone stared in shock as he fell. Raimundo shook off his shock, quickly leaping into the air and taking Omi into his arms. Exagmal watched with sick amusement, their hand sparking before lightning flew from the tip of their claws.

"Omi!" Jermaine called out, hand reaching out as if he could grab him from where he stood.

Raimundo watched wide-eyed, arms wrapped around Omi his mind racing as he thought of how to block the attack. Before he could do anything, the ground beneath them cracked.

From the split in the dirt rose a chunk of metal, gently shining in the fire light. The copper lifted, barely blocking the shot of magic. It slammed into the ceiling, the cave rumbling in response. Jermaine stood, staring at the still glimmering copper, hand frozen in mid air.

Raimundo landed beside him. "Come on!" he yelled. Dojo quickly took his larger size as everyone climbed back onto him. Kimiko grabbed Jermaine, bringing him back to the moment and helping him onto Dojo.

Clay did his best to redirect the falling rocks. "I can't keep this up much longer; let's get outta here!" With that, Dojo took off, avoiding the boulders and the crumbling narrow caverns. They couldn't go back they way they'd come, and as they travelled up the structure remained sound, but nonetheless the thin passages made it difficult to escape.

Raimundo clutched Omi close, he could feel him breathing. He was alive, and while unconscious, he didn't seem to have trouble breathing. Raimundo knew it was too soon to celebrate, but that small relief was enough to blur his eyes, holding Omi just a bit tighter as they finally breached the surface, taking back off into the sky.


	8. Chapter 8

The flight back felt shorter, and it was almost a blessing that it did. Raimundo had barely moved, as if terrified shifting would hurt Omi or lose him. He couldn't risk it, no matter how illogical it was.

They landed, and he still moved slowly as he slid from Dojo's back. The others were at his side quickly, bustling to the infirmary. Only a moment after he was set onto a mat, Omi shifted and groaned, a hand shakily reaching to his head before he winced and let it drop back to his side. He opened his eyes, grimacing at the light but still glancing around.

Seeing he was back in the temple, Omi sat up quickly, immediately hunching over in regret. His chest ached, the gash along his torso throbbing and reminding him of everything that had happened. His legs bent in front of him to support his upper body, arms clenched around his stomach.

Raimundo leaned closer, one gentle hand on Omi's shoulder. "Omi! Take it easy." Omi's shoulder relaxed slightly. He peered up, looking at the room of faces before his eyes landed on Jermaine.

"Jermaine!" Omi exclaimed. Any other words were lost in his throat as he held his head and winced. Jermaine stepped forward, taking Raimundo's place beside him and helping to ease Omi back onto the pillow. Omi peered at him through half closed eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Jermaine rubbed the back of his own head. "I was worried, man. They came to get me after they found out what happened to you an' there was no way I was staying behind." Omi would have been more touched by his concern if he wasn't in pain, or now full of his own worry.

Raimundo cleared his throat, putting a hand on Jermaine's shoulder. "And without him, you an' I would be pancakes. He saved our butts in the cave." Jermaine's eyes shifted away. Raimundo wasn't wrong, he guessed, but it wasn't like he'd been trying to save anyone.

Kimiko crossed her arms. "Which we will need to come back to." She stepped forward. "For now: Omi, can you tell us what happened to you after you left?"

Omi grunted, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before looking towards her. "I had finished informing Jermaine that I was on my way, when suddenly there was something chasing me. Or I suppose, somethings. A large swarm of insects surrounded the Silver Manta Ray and I couldn't see anything. I attempted to land, but with the lack of visibility, it wasn't the smoothest." He closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath. "It was after that that Exagmal made themself known. They were looking for the Orb of Tornami, but thankfully I left it in Raimundo's care."

It was a thick quiet, everyone still at Omi's words. Omi turned his head slightly to glance at them, a bit lost in the silence, and their refusal to now meet his eye.

Raimundo took a breath. "They wanted a trade, you for the orb. We took it."

The air turned cold, the tension doubling in weight. Mumbled, quiet, and distraught Omi asked, "You did what?" Raimundo opened his mouth to repeat himself, but was quickly cut off as Omi spoke again. "What the _fuck_ did you _do!?_ " At his words, Jack let out a loud gasp before shutting his mouth quickly when the others glared at him.

Omi pierced Raimundo with an icy glare. The room was frozen, no one had any idea what to say. Omi broke the silence himself, tone still sharp. "Only a fool would choose one soul over not handing a villain more power!" Omi's own rant was cut off as he groaned in pain.

Raimundo paused, taken aback at Omi's anger. "I was saving your life, dude. If you haven't noticed, you're way more important than any wu!" Raimundo's voice raised, and he wasn't sure what emotion was causing it: Anger, hurt, fear- it could have been any of them.

"Your concern is touching, but your actions remain foolish." Omi muttered, unable to speak any louder at this point. Raimundo almost seethed, taking deep breaths to bring himself back to Earth.

Raimundo lowered his voice and coldly spoke. "I did what I thought was best." He took another deep breath, trying to force the edge from his tone. "I didn't just decide, with no other thought, that you were more important: Exagmal isn't going to stop until we stop them, and you being eaten by bugs isn't going to do anything but make their job easier."

"Handing over the Orb was what, a hindrance?" Omi replied, turning his head to face the wall. Raimundo's shoulders tensed again, falling back as Clay placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked sharply at the cowboy before huffing and turning on his heel.

"Get some rest." He walked to the doorway, pausing but not looking back. "We have work to do. Clay, Kimiko, I'm going to need one of you to deliver a message."

Clay and Kimiko glanced at each other, having a feeling they knew exactly where Raimundo was going to send them. Clay nodded at him, turning back to Omi.

"Rest up, partner. We'll be back soon as can be. You know us, we ain't about to let the world get turned upside down." Clay pat his shoulder, Omi glanced at him but made no other moves to respond.

Kimiko stepped forward, kissing the temple of his forehead gently. "We're glad you're safe." She whispered before stepping back and following Clay from the room.

Jermaine immediately sat beside the bed, a much thicker layer of worry evident on his face now that they were alone. He almost paused to wonder why Jack had followed Raimundo with the others but, decided he really didn't care right now. He only cared that Omi was at least, in a safer place.

Omi gulped, still refusing to turn his head. "I am sorry to inconvenience you like this, my friend. I knew it would be a danger, but I did not think…"

"Yo Omi no - Man don't talk like that." Jermaine gave a weak smile. "You didn't want any of that to happen. I'm not inconvenienced, not by you bein' attacked - at least it isn't your fault if it was. I'm just…" Jermaine looked down, pausing and breathing in slowly before gently taking Omi's hand into his. "I'm really glad you're okay."

Omi ignored the blush spreading across his face and up to his ears, holding Jermaine's hand weakly. "I am fine. I will be alright." He closed his eyes. "I just need rest." His voice slowed, quieting as he quickly fell into slumber, still holding Jermaine's hand.

Raimundo walked swiftly away from the infirmary, trying to gain control of his emotions again. Turning, Jack's awkward but attentive stance caught his eye.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked.

Jack blinked, standing straighter and pausing as if he hadn't even realized he'd followed them out of the room. In reality, he had no answer, but made one up quickly. "I thought I'd be more help with whatever you have going on." He paused for a second before adding, "Gotta pay my temporary rent somehow, right?" Despite the fact he'd gotten little to no sleep since arriving. At the still pointed stare, Jack stood a bit straighter and slapped on a cocky grin. "Plus I'm a sucker for drama."

Raimundo let out a sigh, choosing to ignore Jack for the time being and focus on the next step: Recruitment. "Look. We barely got out of there, and Exagmal was ready to cream Omi and me - we survived by sheer luck. Luck isn't exactly something we can rely on every time though, so it's time to get who we can." He took another deep breath. "Anyone we can get. Kimiko - I need you to go to Chase's citadel. Catch them up to speed, and get them to come back here." He paused as she grimaced. "I know, but at this point we don't have much choice."

Kimiko let out a short huff in response, but nodded. Before she could verbally respond, Jack interjected.

"I can go with her! I know exactly how to get into that place." He smiled proudly.

"Or we can just… knock on the door? Since he's allegedly not going to kill us." She paused. "Well, me." She side eyed Jack who quickly deflated in his stance.

"Okay but where's the fun of knocking on doors? Plus the place is huge. They may not hear us if they aren't waiting, and I'll go ahead and guess you don't have either of them on speed dial." Jack pointed.

Kimiko blinked. "Who uses speed dial anymore?" She smirked as Jack glared at her in response.

"Fine, whatever - Kimiko, babysit Jack while you're at it." Raimundo ignored Jack's loud, insulted 'Hey!' and turned his head a bit. "Clay, I'm leaving you here on guard duty." Raimundo leaned against the wall. "I'll be tracking Wuya down again… She put out a tough deal but, not like I'm saying no to any other villain apparently." He put his hands in his pockets.

"Hold on now - you know there's a difference between whatever Wuya is askin' for, and not lettin' Omi become bug chow." Clay stepped forward a bit, tipping his hat back so Raimundo could see his eyes. Soft, blue, and concerned. Raimundo looked down to avoid his gaze, but didn't make any sound to disagree with him, so Clay continued. "I'll keep an eye on things here, you do what you have to." Raimundo sighed, but pushed himself from the wall and mentally shook away his doubts. For now, at least. He had more important things to focus on.

Kimiko had left to find Dojo again, who'd found his way to Omi's side, curled gently against his sleeping figure and watching him with the eyes of a father who'd never been so scared in his life. Despite his worry, and his dislike with returning to Chase's citadel, he agreed to escort Jack and her. Jermaine wished her luck, promising Dojo he'd stay by Omi's side.

"He'll be fine man, no worries. This is Omi we're talking about - like anything could actually take him down." Jermaine grinned with confidence that wobbled unsteadily behind it. He believed in Omi, he knew he was strong, but that didn't make any of the last few hours less nerve-wracking.

Dojo caught on as well and smiled back, nodding as he followed Kimiko from the room.

They took off not long after; Kimiko agreed to let Jack borrow the Eye of Dashi for protection. He needed something, and it was one he was decently good at handling now.

Raimundo stared at the glinting Tiger Claws, secured firmly on his hand. He'd used them so many times in the last couple of days. He looked at Clay, for one last reassuring nod, before swiping the air. The familiar purple vortex cut through the air, and he jumped in.

Clay watched the space where Raimundo vanished for another second before turning away. He was going to do a round around the temple grounds; fresh air would help him finally calm down as well. He peered into the infirmary as he passed it. Omi was still asleep, and Jermaine was holding his hand and staring at it with a small frown. Clay quickly looked away and sped up his pace a tad, evening out his breathing as he made it outside. He had a job to do. He had to focus, he couldn't break apart. Not that he was ever able to, barely okay to show his anger let alone anything else, anything weaker.

He took a deep breath, straightening his hat and beginning his patrol. Keep an eye out for trouble, stay behind and watch things. Much good that did last time, Clay thought as he stepped over a pile of rubble. He and Kimiko left in charge of watching the temple only for her to get hurt, and him to need saving from _Spicer_ of all people. Some trustworthy protector he was.

His head snapped, staring at the entrance to the temple where stood a figure. Lips pursed in frustration and eyes glaring with accusation, Katnappe stood with three of her science-kittens held close in her arms.

"What are you doing here?" He stood firm, ready to defend from whatever she had planned.

Ashley rolled her eyes, nose twitching as she answered. "You need to watch the news every once in a while." She stepped forward, ignoring Clay's tensing shoulders and deeper stance. "The tides are receding. Like, leaving. Something is wrong, and no one is sure what it is. And when something weird is happening that others can't explain, it usually means you and those other goody losers are involved."

Clay stared at her for a moment, gears whirring in his mind. It clicked, and he stood up straight, realization plastered over his face. Side tracking, he looked at her in a mix of suspicion and curiosity. "Why are you here then? You don't seem a 'if I can't rule the world, no one can' type."

She looked at him in the same bored manner as she had been. "I don't care who rules the world, but I do care that my beach house is suddenly a desert house. I'm a kitty who likes to swim, thank you very much." She carefully put her kittens on the ground, giving them each a few pets. "So why exactly is this happening?"

Clay's mouth twitched in a small frown. Katnappe was a villain, even if one that had become more moderate annoyance and caring more for herself than evil, but she had come there on her own seeking answers. Clay wasn't sure how much they could trust her, though his mind quickly travelled to Raimundo, who was going to try and convince someone he trusted even less to join them. He looked at her before explaining everything.

Ashley didn't look at him as he finished, giving one of the kittens soft scratches behind its ear. "Well, it sounds like you'll need some more hands. I'm in." Clay blinked, before he could speak she continued. "Don't think this means anything, I'm just looking out for number one. And number one wants her beach house to have its correct value back."

Clay paused. "It doesn't mean we trust you," he added, though it went without saying as Ashley stood up straight and gave him a pointed grin. She walked past him her kittens following her closely, growling at Clay as they passed him. He stared off, his gut twisting at his own decision, unsure if it was the right thing to do. He took a deep breath and followed her so he could make sure Jermaine knew she was there peacefully. Or at least, she said she was.

Dojo landed in front of the citadel, voicing his displeasure at the decor since it'd been in sight.

"Who has a monster's face for an entrance? Tacky vore fetishists, that's who!" He shrunk and slithered up Kimiko's shoulders once they got off of him.

"I think it's cool," Jack commented, finally confident to disagree as his feet were back on the ground. Kimiko stared forward unamused and walked away from Jack to the door.

"So, expert, how do we get in?" She motioned to the closed stone in front of them. Jack began feeling it, nodding a bit as his hands grazed over the cold, slightly rough wall.

"Not through here. His door is difficult, and also it always opens on me," He murmured, reaching behind himself to turn his helipack on. "Come on. I usually use the way his crows get in and out." He held his hand out to her.

Kimiko stared at his hand before raising an eyebrow at him.

Jack huffed, "Look, this entrance isn't exactly something a dragon is going to fit through. It's either flying with me or climbing and hoping you can find it." Kimiko pursed her lips, but took his hand. In a swift motion he pulled her closer. Kimiko glared at him, especially as she saw him smirk. Dojo was still wrapped around her shoulders, giving an angry, protective glare as well.

"Don't push it, Spicer." She hissed. Jack just grinned at her, jumping off of the ground and boosting them into the air. He peered down, carefully maneuvering around the large structures and jutting rocks until he saw it: A narrow passage, just big enough to jump through. Or, it was just big enough when he was twelve; now, it'd be a bit of a squeeze. Nonetheless, he hovered close to it and helped Kimiko through first. Thankfully, she was just small enough to slip through and land on the ground below. Jack turned his helipack off, stepped onto the ledge, and began squeezing himself through the short space. Yeah, he'd definitely grown a few inches since he'd last bothered sneaking in.

It took some maneuvering, and he was pretty sure he heard a distinct crunching noise as he finally jammed himself in, but before he could react he was plummeting to the ground. He realized halfway to the ground that the crunching noise had been one of the rods on his helipack, which was now bent and useless. Jack waited patiently for the ground to make contact with his body and cause severe pain. Waited patiently with a loud shriek of terror, that is.

The ground didn't break him though. Instead, he was caught by two warm arms. Kimiko had bounded over, hopping to a wall and pushing herself off of it so she could catch Jack in time, landing safely on the tiled ground. Jack finally stopped screaming, though his eyes were still wide as he looked at Kimiko, who dropped him immediately.

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his lower back. "Thanks for the soft landing," he muttered.

Kimiko walked past him. "Softer than plummeting to the ground and splatting like a watermelon," she commented. Jack huffed in anger and got to his feet, catching up with her and taking the lead. After all, he knew his way around this place pretty well.

For once, Jack's insistence that he knew what he was doing was correct. It wasn't too long before he pushed open the doors to an enormous library. Kimiko looked around, amazed at its sheer magnitude. She knew Chase had quite a few years under his belt to collect books, but to own this many, to have read this many, was still baffling to her.

Following the gentle noises of books being shuffled around, they were able to find Guan and Chase. Chase was floating off of the ground, skimming the spines of a large section of books, while Guan was at the table reading through a small stack of them. Without saying a word, Chase pulled one from the shelf and threw it in Guan's direction without turning his head. Guan caught it in one of his hands without looking and placed it in front of him as he continued to read.

The stacks of books, some left open, many on the ground and left askew, made it clear that they'd been looking for a while; likely since they'd been left alone the day before. Kimiko was sure they'd both realized that they had guests already, but if they hadn't, then Jack tripping over a short stack of books and falling flat on his face definitely announced their arrival.

Guan peered up, a bit of concern evident before Jack quickly pushed himself to his feet again. From there Guan's face relaxed, though he kept his eyes on them. "If you came to check our progress, we have yet to find anything."

Kimiko shook her head. "No. We came to - okay, _I_ came to get you to come back with us. We, Omi - something happened." At the mention of Omi and her worried tone, both Chase and Guan paused completely. Chase drifted down gently to land on the ground. "Exagmal attacked Omi when he was going to get Jermaine, held Omi hostage until we gave them the Orb of Tornami, and now he's hurt and we're trying to figure out what to do. He's okay for now, Jermaine is with him, but we're still getting everyone we can," Kimiko explained. Chase and Guan shared a look, and Guan stood up.

"I will accompany you back to the temple," he said, walking to them. Chase turned back to the bookshelf, despite the fact the section was half empty.

"Wait, no. Both of you. Raimundo wants both of you there. We need everyone," Kimiko added quickly, though she wasn't sure how much she wanted them both there. Chase just glanced in their direction.

Jack almost stepped forward, but the intimidation he could feel oozing from Chase halted his steps. Still, he spoke. "Look, no offense to baldy here, but you're the one with the mad magic skills. The monks have elements, but we've seen about how useful that all gets. We need someone who can actually counteract Exagmal." Jack froze, a hopeful but slightly worried grin on his face. Chase turned his head fully to look at him, with the same cold disinterest Jack usually received. Finally, he slipped the book he'd been tipping out to examine further back onto the shelf, turned to face them, and nodded in agreement.

Jack grinned down at Kimiko, who snorted at his face and turned on her heel. "Yeah, okay cool. You rolled a natural 20 on a stat you have 4 in. Congrats." Jack scoffed in offense and padded off behind her, arguing his case, and his very high charisma modifier, thank you very much. The elder monks gave each other another glance, before following them from the room, Guan's hand tightly and securely around Chase's.

"Are we sure this is the best idea?" Chase muttered to him, watching the younger two squawk at each other over dungeons and food. "Omi is hurt. Jermaine is... Am I really someone they want skulking about?"

Guan gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Kimiko would not have made the distinction if they were not sure. I must also add that Jack's words are very true. You are the most advanced magic user we will have."

Chase hummed in response. Normally, reassurance with a bit of flattery could calm his nerves in times like this. The problem here was that there had never been a time like this.

"Besides," Guan added, "if you do not want them to fear you skulking about, perhaps don't skulk." Chase gave him a look, but turned away and continued following Kimiko and Jack.

Arriving back into the large entrance, Kimiko halted for a moment and peered at Dojo. "How exactly do we all plan to get there?" She asked, knowing full well Dojo would not particularly be up for Chase hitching a ride on him.

Chase followed her gaze, quickly understanding why she prompted the question. "I have my own ways of travel. I will meet you there." Guan turned to him, but before he could speak, Chase continued. "It is best you accompany them. If there happens to be another ambush, they will need you." Kimiko frowned at the comment, despite its truth. Guan stopped, but nodded in agreement.

Dojo grew to his full size and gave Chase a cold glance as he flew by. The stone door fell before him and they took off. He peered back at the entrance to the citadel. Stupid, tacky decor.

Raimundo landed on the cliff once again. It worked last time, it might as well be the place to start.

He was right, as sitting before him, her face giving off a calm, serene smile, Wuya sat enjoying the breeze. Beneath her gentle exterior though, he knew she was grinning with a sadistic glee. He'd come back, just like she knew he would.

"So dear, do we have a deal then?" She asked, not moving a muscle. Raimundo grimaced looking at her.

"That's still not my call." He shot back.

"Make it your call." She snapped. "I'm the only one who knows the spell to defeat Exagmal, and the only one who'd be able to use it. Do you think Chase could handle it? He's a toddler compared to me!"

Raimundo stepped forward. "Listen, he's coming to the temple. Why don't you hash out this whole power thing with him? Before we all, ya know, die."

"Before _you_ die," Wuya corrected. " _I'm_ rather good at surviving, if you don't remember."

Raimundo rolled his neck, doing his best to stay calm as he spoke. "That's just skippy. It doesn't change anything else, though. I'm still not the one with the hold on your powers, and Chase and I aren't exactly sporting friendship bracelets." Wuya stood up, turning and walking to him. He glared at her, tilting his chin up just a bit to stare at her.

Wuya looked him over again, before closing her eyes and smiling slyly. "Alright. I'll go with you, but you need to help me convince him. He's not a fan of mine either," Wuya grinned a bit. "He just doesn't have any friends."

Raimundo snorted, though he covered it quickly. "Fine. I'll help you try to convince him. I love playing marriage counselor."

Wuya huffed, crossing her arms. "He wishes." She stuck her nose in the air, and glared when Raimundo let out a bark of a laugh.

"Yeah, don't think he really wants your company anymore. He's hooked up with Guan." Raimundo glanced to the side, thinking about Guan and Chase being anything but enemies was still, odd to him.

Wuya stared for a moment. "Again? I knew Chase was laying low on his Heylin activities, but he's actually with that muscle boy?" Her laugh was just as quick, but laced with something less amused and more condescending. "They used to run off all the time back when I was the biggest threat around."

Raimundo raised an eyebrow, "They were dating then? I thought they were just best friends."

Wuya rolled her eyes. "If best friends constantly play naked twister, sure." Raimundo almost gagged, and decided it was best to change the subject now before he got more details he'd rather shave his head than hear.

"Come on, we should get to the temple. We don't have a lot of time to waste." Turning on his heel, he slashed through the air again, motioning for Wuya to follow him. Wuya hummed, jumping through before him.

Raimundo and Wuya made it back before the others, Wuya taking more joy than she should at Clay's own glare. Raimundo walked past her, giving her a look as he went to talk to Clay. It wasn't until he looked up at him again that he noticed behind Clay, a second blonde sat petting three small kittens that purred happily in her lap. She gave a large, sharp grin and waved a hand with far too pointed nails.

At Raimundo's look, Clay shrugged a bit. "She wanted to help. Figured she can't be much worse than Wuya or Chase bein' here." Raimundo looked at her again, then at Clay and let out a sigh, nodding with understanding. Then, Clay continued. "Plus, she mentioned something that is probably pretty important bit of info. Apparently, the tides are recedin'?"

Ashley looked up, interjecting. "With no like, tsunami warnings or whatever. The water is just gone, I'm guessing because of some weirdo magic crap." Raimundo looked at them questioningly.

"So you think whatever Exagmal is doing, they're taking ocean water to do it?" He asked.

"Makes some sense. They are a desert bug after all." Clay said, "I think they're a giant camel spider or somethin' like it at least."

Raimundo nodded again, thinking for a moment before it clicked. "That's why they wanted the Orb, and stole Jack's mirror. They're using it to drain the ocean- to what, make it one big desert? Would that even work?"

Clay shrugged a bit, "It's never happened, we're not really sure what exactly it'd cause. Just that a lot of things would die off, humans likely included."

Raimundo grimaced, running a hand through his hair. "And how long do you think it'll take them to drain the ocean? I didn't notice any change on the Rio beaches."

"If you didn't see a change yet, I'mma guess it'll be a few days before they can get much done. Even if they're usin' magic and the wu, the oceans are pretty huge." Clay tilted his head a bit. "That's just my guess though. I wouldn't exactly take our time kickin' their butt."

Before Raimundo could respond, Dojo landed back on the temple grounds. His passengers quickly hopped off of him, Dojo taking back to Kimiko's shoulders. Raimundo, Clay, and Wuya went outside to meet them, though Wuya only to shoot Guan a smarmy smile, taking great pleasure in his immediate distrustful face.

"Oh is that how you greet an old friend?" She taunted. Guan frowned deeper, choosing to ignore her over starting a fight this soon.

"Do you even know how to play nice, or does it physically hurt you not to be cruel for ten seconds?" Kimiko stepped forward.

Wuya raised an eyebrow at her, the face of amusement wiped clean. "Oh, the spitfire is giving me a lecture on attitude I see." Kimiko's shoulders tensed, she opened her mouth to shoot back a reply, but stopped as Clay put a calming hand on her shoulder. Kimiko let out a deep breath and began walking into the temple.

Guan looked to Raimundo, "Chase will arrive soon, he thought it best he travel a different way." Raimundo glanced back, thinking of Dojo and how out of all of them, he probably hated, or at least feared, Chase the most.

A shout from inside made them all turn, a bit alarmed as Kimiko yelled, "You have GOT to be kidding me!"

"I think she saw Ashley." Clay commented. Raimundo laughed a bit. It was definitely going to be an interesting time with all of them there.

It wasn't more than a minute before Chase showed up, landing just outside the temple and walking through, ignoring every gaze that hit him but Guan's. He walked to his side, once he'd stopped he immediately looked to Wuya.

"I thought they needed experts in magic, not dead weight." He snarked.

Wuya bristled, crossing her arms tapping her sharp nails against her forearm. "They do, it's why they called me in. You're just here to deliver my powers back to me." They glared at each other in a heavily aggressive silence for a moment.

"You are the last person who should have any amount of magical power here. I'd rather give Spicer that much control than let you have an ounce of it." Chase snarled. Jack shrank back a bit, and Wuya stepped closer to Chase.

"Well there isn't much choice, is there? Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you know how to defeat Exagmal?" Wuya smirked confidently as Chase glared harder at her, knowing she was right. They'd come up empty in their search, and they didn't have much time to keep looking. "That's what I thought. So why don't you be a good little delivery boy and give them back to me." Chase's face contorted to outrage at Wuya's condescending stare.

Before they could continue, Raimundo stepped between them and held out his hands in defense. "Look, none of this is ideal, but right now we have to see the big picture, and whack the giant bug that's messing it up with a correctly sized, magic newspaper." He turned to Chase "You wanna prove you're any level of trustworthy here? Compromise."

Chase frowned. "I never said I wanted to be trustworthy to you." Still, he continued. "Tell us the spell first. I am not going to be played for a fool by you."

Wuya tsked. "And give my leverage? Do you think I'm the fool instead? I'll give you the ingredients first. Then you give me my powers, and I will perform the spell." Chase glowered at her, but nodded in agreement to the deal. Wuya clasped her hands together. "Finally, my full power in reach. No time to waste then." She almost sung, passing Chase by with a wicked laugh and entering the temple.

The rest followed, Wuya began talking with Raimundo, she listed off different needed things as he quickly jotted them down, ignoring the disgust or curiosity he held for some for them. As this took place, Guan took to the infirmary, Chase following behind him. He peered in, face shifting to worry as he saw Omi asleep on the bed, his hand still in Jermaine's.

Jermaine looked up, a bit alarmed. He'd fallen asleep while everyone was gone, a bit tired from his early wake up call. His brows furrowed, unsure of who Guan was, but switching to anger as Chase stepped behind him.

"You must be Master Monk Guan." He said coldly. Guan nodded, stepping forward. Chase stayed at the wall, watching stoically. Jermaine didn't move much, thought he held Omi's hand a bit tighter as Guan approached.

"You must be Jermaine. Omi has spoken very highly of you. I am glad to finally meet you." Guan gave a short, friendly smile. Jermaine blinked, blushing a bit at the idea of Omi talking about him like that. He calmed down, just a tad. Just for Guan.

"Uh." He stuttered, his words catching back up with him. "You too- Omi told me about you too." He saved the mention of how much Omi looked up to him. His guess was that Guan knew very well how Omi saw him.

They were both distracted as Omi stirred in the bed. His teeth were barred, grit together in pain. His free hand clutching his chest as he tried to steady his breathing. Jermaine stood up, forgetting anything else but trying to help him. Guan leaned down, helping Jermaine sit Omi up just a bit.

"That is a rather bad wound. Exagmal did this, yes?" Jermaine nodded, an almost venomous look in his eyes at the mention of Exagmal. "He will not be able to fight until it is healed."

At this, Omi made it known he was fully awake by hissing out a soft, upset, "No."

Jermaine pat his shoulder gently and looked to Guan. "Isn't there some way to heal him faster? A wu, a spell, anything?"

Guan hummed before nodding once. "There is, but I cannot perform spells. There is only one person here who can." Guan turned his head to look at Chase, who made no move to come closer.

Jermaine glared at him, standing a bit protectively in front of Omi. "Yeah. I don't see that happening," he said flatly.

Guan stood up again, walking to Chase's side. "I know your past is… awful with him, but he is the only one here who can do it." Chase glanced at him. It was a true statement, but nonetheless he doubted Jermaine would step down. Not that he particularly blamed him.

Despite that, after another moment of glaring, Jermaine moved over a bit. He stayed close, still taking Omi's hand in his and refusing to move anymore. "Fine. You try anything, and it won't be pretty." Jermaine spoke coldly. They all knew his threat wasn't exactly well backed up, but it didn't stop Jermaine from standing tall and ready to follow through with it.

Chase approached carefully, waiting until he was fully at Omi's side before focusing his energy, his hands began to glow and he slowly moved it towards Omi's chest. Jermaine watched him like a hawk, but stood back as the soft green glow waved out, brighter and sharper for a moment.

Chase side eyed Omi. "This will sting for a moment." He muttered, the energy turning a soft blue. As it shifted, Omi grit his teeth again, almost hissing in pain. Jermaine stood ready to push Chase back, but before he could move further, Omi relaxed and the glowing stopped.

Chase took his hand back and turned from them, walking back to the wall. "He still shouldn't be doing anything with too much overexertion, but he will be fine." He continued back to Guan's side, pausing again. "I think they should be left alone now." Though Chase certainly meant more that he would be leaving them alone, Guan still followed him out.

"I will come by later again. Rest easy, both of you." He said, before vanishing from sight.

Jermaine glanced back down at Omi, who already looked considerably better. Jermaine sighed in relief, sitting back down and staring at his friend with a hint of joy. He was going to be alright before, sure. With this though he was alright right now, and not seeing him suffering or in pain was definitely a plus in Jermaine's book.

It was an hour before Raimundo, Clay, Kimiko, and Dojo had scoped out what the temple had in terms of ingredients. A plethora of odd, mildly disgusting things laid on the table, as Wuya checked them all to make sure they were good enough. She nodded finally, putting her hands on the table and leaning forward.

"Just three missing." She said. Taking the pen and paper from Raimundo's hand, she began to messily sketch the missing three. "Though I'm not surprised, they're not too easy to get a hold of. The first is a Root of Decades. The name is exactly one of the reasons it is special, the magic root ripens to its peak power after many decades of growth. The only problem is, animals find them delicious. They're often eaten or destroyed before they can finish growing, so finding one good enough isn't going to be easy." She finished the sketch, showing a spiraled, gnarling picture of what they supposed was the root.

"Next would be fur, from a Magnus Stupri Leo." Clay and Ashley snorted at the name. "That isn't what its actual name is. It's what I decided to call it since our last encounter. Normally a docile creature, it lives in one of the smaller magic infused jungles, and lucky us that it's hibernating now. We will need to collect the fur, hopefully without waking the beast."

"Take it they're not mornin' people?" Clay asked.

Wuya nodded. "Even more frustrating than Jack." Jack scoffed. He should have known Wuya's arrival meant a thousand insults would be coming his way. Even if this one held a bit of truth.

Wuya continued on, starting to draw the final ingredient. "The last will be the most difficult to obtain. Another creature that lives in the dark, musky caves around the swamps in the Land of Nowhere. The Ingens Venenum Puer, very angry, very bitey, and will be very hard to retrieve." Wuya set her hands down flat again. "So who is fetching what?"

It was soft murmuring for a moment. Jermaine had joined them at Raimundo's request, and Omi sat up awake in his room, listening closely.

From there, he called out. "I will take on the large venomous creature!"

"No, you won't!" Jermaine called back. "If we're going on anything, man, it's the root. Easiest one, less deadly, and I'm not about to let you go get extra messed up. No protesting this one guy!" He added, before Omi could even yell back. Instead he crossed his arms in a huff and laid back down.

Jermaine shook his head gently, guy was lucky they were letting him go on any expedition let alone think they were sending him on the most dangerous one.

"Uh yea, ya know what? That sounds good, the less deadly thing an all. I think I'm with them." Jack gulped a bit, looking at the other two options.

Raimundo rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright, I'm with the root group too then. Someone needs to keep a good eye on Jack, make sure Omi remains alright, and help Jermaine figure out. Whatever the hell is going on with his powers." He looked at Jermaine's hands.

"Oh cool, leave the dangerous stuff to us, Rai. I see how it is." Kimiko elbowed him gently, winking afterwards so he knew she was just trying to help him lighten up, and stay Raimundo. She turned to Clay and Ashley. "You two are pretty good with animals, right? What did the name of that thing translate to?"

Ashley grinned, "Oh, it means big f-"

"Freakin' lion." Clay cut her off, glaring back at her. "Big freakin' lion is all it means. I'm guessin' it'll be a fittin' name though."

"Well seeing as that's more than I know, and Wuya has firsthand experience with these things. I vote the four of us go give a big old cat a trim." She suggested, though the idea of working with Ashley and Wuya made her sick, the expertise they had was undeniable, and the faster this all got done the faster she could go back to ignoring them.

Ashley grinned, cupping her hands together. "I'd love to meet the big f-" Again, she was cut off, but this time by Wuya's objection.

"Why do I even have to go? I listed the ingredients, you should be fetching them for me." She put her hand to her chest, peaking one eye open as Kimiko held up the piece of paper she'd doodled on in front of her.

"I'm sorry, what animal is this? A bear? Lemur? Clay when he hasn't shaved? This is not enough to help us find this thing and you know it. You're coming with us." Kimiko slammed the paper down.

"With nothing to protect myself?" She blinked, faux innocence on her face. "How will I survive?" She turned to Chase, grinning.

Chase frowned at her. He waited a moment before reaching out to her with one, lime green glowing hand. It shook hers and the glow immediately transferred, but before she could take her hand away he pulled her closer.

"This is enough to shoot your little fireballs. You will get the rest once it is time to do the spell." Wuya scoffed, yanking her hand away.

"Always the fuddy duddy. Fine, I'll go along and help get the fur. I'll be a, team player, or whatever it's called." Sh shrugged, brushing the dirt from her sleeves.

"That leaves the final ingredient to us." Guan said. "Chase and I will retrieve it quickly, I promise."

"Oh I don't know about sending those two alone." Wuya snarked. "They always get distracted." She examined her nails casually, side eyeing them and smirking when Chase glared at her, he and Guan's face having a light shade of pink.

It was quiet for a moment, no one jumping at the chance to tag along with them. As much as Jack would have loved to try, even he knew that the mission they were going on was a bit out of his league.

Instead, Dojo slithered from Kimiko's shoulders, "I'll go with them. Makes sense right? One ferocious beast against another?"

"Oh, yes." Chase commented. "Would you happen to know any?" Guan glared at him, Chase just smirked back.

Dojo glared as well, a bit of a pout in his eyes. Still, despite the insult, he made his way onto Guan's shoulders.

Raimundo eyed the groups. He guessed it was fitting enough, at least everyone was mostly willing to work as a team for this. "Alright. Let's get going."

Thanks to my beta reader DragoNutt, and NachoSammich for betaing chapter 8 as well!

IDK why FFNet is being a pain with my chapters, I just noticed chapter 6 was mega messed up and I forgot to upload chapter 7 so. here all of that is an hopefully fixed up too. (And then chapter 8's spacing got wonky. Ugh)

anyways the next chapters will be fun!


	9. Chapter 9

Raimundo pushed a large leaf aside, leading the way through the thickening jungle. His mind still floated, distracted on the what Wuya told them before they'd left. She'd shared them the true story of Exagmal's past.

 _Wuya looked, her arms crossed as she hummed in thought. "Well, I wouldn't say it's much of a story. Exagmal and I crossed paths only a few times, but if I recall correctly…" Her fingers tapped her arm. "They were just as cruel and ruthless back then. A powerful sorcerer, ruling over the sands. They wanted nothing more than to dry the world out, always seeking magic that would let them do so. Sadly for them, they had no control over water, and no matter how hard they tried they could not gain it."_

 _Raimundo had stiffened. No wonder Exagmal had desired the Orb so desperately, it finally gave them exactly what they needed. He didn't regret his choice, but he regretted not even trying to think of Exagmal's motives beforehand._

" _That aside," Wuya continued. "They continued to hurt and do whatever they pleased. Many tried to stop them, and failed. Finally, one sorceress took on the challenge to defeat them. Exagmal had proven their magic prowess and strength, their ability to survive most anything. The sorceress however, had no plans to kill them." Wuya pushed her hair over her shoulder, looking to the ceiling, lost in sorting the details of the battle for a moment. "She instead, had created a powerful sleeping spell. Luring Exagmal deeper into the Earth, she cast the spell and sealed them both away. Exagmal, immortal, was meant to remain asleep for all of time, as she perished in her sacrificial slumber,"_

 _Wuya uncrossed her arms, shrugging with a cruel grin. "A useless sacrifice it seems now, as it didn't work. Not long enough anyway. Rest assured, my spell will work for much longer, and no sacrifice required. I figured that'd be a dealbreaker for you lot." She finished._

He didn't like that ending. The implication a sacrifice of life had meant nothing. Sure Exagmal was causing them problems, but if they were able to permanently stop them… That meant something too. Plus they'd been stopped for the time being, even if it didn't remain. That was still a victory.

Raimundo was shaken from his thoughts as he let the leaf go, the startled yell Jack gave off calling him back to the situation.

Jack shoved the leaf out of his face, glaring at Raimundo and half-stomping past him. "Keep your head in the game, Pedrosa. I don't feel like getting eaten by something because you're too busy daydreaming." He snarked, though didn't stomp too far ahead, his own words making him a bit more paranoid about what might be in front of them.

Raimundo peered back at Omi and Jermaine, who were talking to each other as Jermaine fiddled with a paperclip. His eyes squinted in focus, pauses in his words as he did his best to manipulate it. They hadn't had time to get much of a rundown on his powers or, anything about his element. So for now, he did his best to learn on his own, something he'd been pretty good at before. He really was a fast learner, Raimundo noted. Definitely something that bode well for them.

Jermaine's spark of interest and determination in his own abilities was a refreshing twist. He'd taken to practicing the whole flight, and talking with Omi, getting any pointers he could. Though, Raimundo thought, Clay would likely be a better mentor with this element. If anyone could even truly help with it, seeing as it was Jermaine's own, and his to figure out.

"Check it," Jermaine started, focusing closely on the paperclip in his palm. Slowly, the metal bent, twisting from its uniformed state into a much more tangled, much less useful one. "I'm already a master. Ah yeah." He grinned, jokingly holding the mess of metal up for Omi to inspect.

Omi's grin, however, was genuine as he took Jermaine's work into his own hands gently and stared at it. "A wonderful manipulation Jermaine!" He paused. "What is it?"

Jermaine laughed, patting his shoulder. "It's nothing my man, just my attempt to work what i can do."

Still, Omi stood transfixed on the paperclip before turning it sideways. ""It is a duck." He stated simply, the new angle giving just enough vague likeness to a duck that he could be considered right. Jermaine, tilting his head and staring, let out a bark of a laugh at Omi's decision.

"Whatever you say man." He pat Omi's back, taking the paperclip back. Looking back to the other two party members, Jermaine caught Jack's scowl directed to him. "What's your deal?"

"Oh nothing, just the whole I have been in this since the beginning, messing with magic, switch of good and evil, yadda yadda," Jack ranted, walking a bit closer, his tone growing more exasperated as he spoke. "Yet YOU are the one to get the cool metal powers? Metal!? Robots, gears, that's my brand, and you just swoop in for it." Jack crossed his arms, his miffed expression only met with a dull look from Jermaine.

"Man I didn't swoop anything. I almost saw my friends get hurt so I lifted my arms and whatdya know," Jermaine further twisted the paper clip, "the kid's magic."

Jack frowned harder, "Ohhh you can manipulate a paperclip, congratulations. My hands can do that." he said, waving them as if to prove that point.

Jermaine raised an eyebrow, lifting his hand slightly, "Man you're just jealous I can do this," he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing intently. A slight click was heard, and Jack's watch fell to the ground in a soft clunk. "Yes! Got it. Come on, that was some mad precision control."

"Hey!" Jack picked up his watch, brushing it off and glaring at Jermaine, "This was a gift!"

Jermaine snorted, crossing his arms, "I'm sorry people who gift you don't have taste."

Jack's scowl deepened and he turned away. "Whatever." He scoffed, and in his pouting he missed the large root in front of him and tumbled quickly to the ground. He pushed himself up, groaning in pain before a thick, gooey drop of something splattered onto his shoulder. Jack winced, sticking out his tongue in disgust. Though once the smell of the substance hit his nose, he peered up curiously. The sweet, warm scent that meant safety in his home, and likely danger when faced with a plant twice his size.

Another glob of the syrup hit the ground, sticking to one of Jack's hands and momentarily cementing it in place. Jack pulled his arm, stumbling backwards and staring up at the large plant. Flies buzzed around it, landing inside of the flower, and as he watched none fly out, he could only assume it was how the plant gained its nutrients. He stood up, brushing himself off and attempting to wipe the gunk from his shoulder.

"Hey Rai!" He called out, pointing to the plant, "Check out this huge flower."

Raimundo turned around, looking at the plant before shifting his gaze to Jack. "Don't touch anything that could eat you." He replied dully.

Jack frowned "It's not gonna eat me. It traps its prey, doesn't hunt it." He murmured, peering closer and looking into the syrup. As expected, flies struggled helplessly, sinking deeper into the goo. It was sad, really, but he couldn't look away. It didn't help that the soft, sweet smell was becoming more alluring, his thoughts a bit hazy as he leaned in just a bit closer, mesmerized by the gentle rippling.

Jack was right over the goop, and he didn't realize just how close he was until he saw something moving beneath it. Before he could blink, two vines lashed out from inside of the flower, quickly wrapping around his head and attempting to bring him closer into the mess. Jack yelled, pushing himself from the flower best he could, trying to yank away and keep his face out of the thick ooze that sloshed beneath him. He tried to think of what to do. How could he escape this thing when moving his hands would just land him face first in death syrup?

He didn't have to worry much longer as someone took hold of the Vines and him, separating the two and pushing him backward to safety. Jack landed with an oomph, staring up and watching Raimundo as he now fought against the vines that were attempting to take him in instead. Raimundo grunted as he pulled back, heels digging into the ground and lifting his wrapped wrists away, trying to yank himself free. Jack scrambled to his feet, mind racing before he remembered what he still had on him. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out the Eye of Dashi.

With shakey hands, Jack took aim. "Eye of Dashi!" He shouted, the lightning hitting close to the surface of the goo and zapping the vines. They let go of Raimundo, drawing back into the flower as Raimundo turned from it, stepping swiftly to get a safe distance away. He rubbed his wrists, the shock hadn't hit him much, and he'd taken much worse in the past, but it was still never a great feeling. Jack shoved the Eye of Dashi back into his pocket, taking a spot by Raimundo's side with mild concern.

Raimundo looked at him, noting quickly he was fine. "Do I really need to include a rule for us to not get eaten by giant plants?" He smirked a bit and crossed his arms, Jack's shoulders tensed and he ignored the blush on his cheeks and turned away from Raimundo.

"Ya know," He began walking again, "You might have saved my butt, but I saved yours. So this time we're even." Raimundo almost laughed, since it was Jack's own curiosity that'd almost gotten them both hurt, but thought against pointing that out. He was really just glad Jack was alright, surprising himself a bit with that thought. He shook his head, rubbing his wrists a bit more and chalking the heat in his face up to adrenaline.

As they caught up to Omi and Jermaine, Jermaine turned to Raimundo. "So, where's this root thing suppose to be anyway? This is a pretty big forest, we could end up spending a good chunk of time searching."

Raimundo shrugged a bit, "Wuya said it grew at the base of trees, and they have to be pretty old ones, so I'm guessing somewhere closer to the center. Just keep an eye out as we keep moving." The trees grew thicker as they moved, taller and thicker. The plants themselves grew odder as well, Jack sticking to Raimundo's side, nervously watching all of them and fearing another incident.

"Ya know, this is feeling a lot more dangerous than Wuya let on," He murmured, grabbing to Raimundo's arm and warily watching his surroundings, almost jumping out of his skin as he walked face first into a vine.

Raimundo blushed a bit at Jack's tight grip, rolling his eyes when he yelled at the vine directly hitting his face. "Look Jack, it's a magical forest, by now you should be able to catch on that magical means deadly, and/or stupid." Jack pouted, but didn't argue as they trekked on.

Jermaine, in a similar distrust of the creatures around them, took to keeping Omi close at his side. Omi had been doing alright, keeping up with them perfectly well, but it still hadn't been long since he was lying in the infirmary, barely able to lift his head up. Jermaine wasn't about to take any chances overtaxing his energy, or sending him back there. Omi on the other hand, stubborn as he ever was, wanted to continue ahead much faster than Jermaine was giving him leeway to do.

"We must find the root as quickly as we can! We do not have time to take it easy!" Omi tugged at his arm.

Jermaine eyed him, raising an eyebrow. "Man you've got way too much energy for someone who almost died like, ten hours ago."

Omi continued to pull Jermaine along, smiling back at him. "That was the past. I am refreshed and ready to give Exagmal what they have coming to them!" Jermaine snorted, though still worried he quickened his pace to keep up with him. As long as Omi stayed close, he wasn't too concerned. Omi was always one to bounce back quick he guessed, even if this seemed a bit much.

The terrain toughened as they went deeper, larger tree roots growing from the ground, rocks and paths destroyed by nature's growth and time's flow. As Raimundo helped Jack climb over a particularly large root, Omi bound over its height. Landing firmly, he peered around only to shout over to the others.

"I have found the root!" He called, walking towards it. He leaned down, reaching for the gnarled root. Raimundo had made his way over to him, followed closely by Jermaine and Jack. He knelt down beside Omi, looking at the twisted roots and pulling out the sketch Wuya had given him. It looked just as the sketch did, and looking at the tree itself, it was definitely old enough to have these growing at its base. Raimundo peered a bit closer, making sure they matched up to Wuya's notes of how they'd know a root was old enough as well, since they took so long to mature. Slightly orange coloring, twisted shape, speckling at the base. He reached for one, noting Omi did as well. Really, while they were there, an extra wouldn't hurt them really, would it?

Raimundo's focus was pulled away a bit, as someone tapped his shoulder. "Jack, whatever it is, it can wait can't it? I'm analyzing almost-fungus over here." He was tapped again, this time Raimundo turned slightly, frowning until he spotted Jack starring ahead, terror pulling his eyes wide. Raimundo looked back further, finding what his gaze was stuck on, and pausing to process what he was seeing.

Large, furry, with a tongue that flopped over sharp and crooked teeth, an animal that looked like a pissed off, nightmare-anteater. It stared at them, breathing heavily and watching them closely, or more so, Raimundo and Omi's hands, both wrapped around a couple of the roots.

"Wuya did say these were a common food…" Raimundo muttered. "Maybe he's a vegetarian?" Though, the large sharp teeth weren't promising.

Jermaine had slowly made his way to stand fully between Omi and the creature, having no further plan than to make sure he could protect him, somehow or someway. His hand clenched around the paperclip, reminding him of his own new powers. He could use them, he could probably do something and he just had to figure out what.

His time was cut short, the beast charged forward. Raimundo got to his feet and pulled Jack out of the way, both of them tumbling in the uneven terrain, Jack covered his head and Raimundo turned back to make sure Omi and Jermaine were alright. His shoulders slumped as he stared a bit bewildered. The creature had paused, watching Jermaine's hand now more than anything, and while it still towered over him, it's eyes focused intently on the softly gleaming paperclip.

Jermaine moved it slowly side to side, carefully watching as he did to not move too fast yet. "That's right, follow the paperclip. Now, let's hope this thing is is like every dog I've ever met…" He quickly threw it to the side, watching the beast bound in its direction. Jermaine helped Omi to his feet, Raimundo and Jack having just enough time to brush themselves off.

Raimundo pulled the Golden Tiger Claws out, quickly slashing the air. "Hurry, before that thing comes back expecting another round of fetch." Or, before it decided getting its food supply back was more important. In the rush, Omi had dropped his root back at the base of the tree, following Jermaine through the portal. Raimundo ushered Jack in quickly, hand wrapped around the root he'd managed to hang onto. He jumped through, hoping that the others would meet them soon with successful stories.

Thank you to my beta reader. Dragonnutt!

So, a double date in a forest, plants that eat things, nightmare-anteaters. Magical forests sure are a lot of fun.  
One Quest down, two more to go.

Sorry this chapter is late, my energy keeps wavering. But i wanna keep this going and I wanna finish this story, we have a lot more to go through.  
Also happy birthday to this fic! August 25th was the publish date, a beautiful year of all sortsa hi-jinks. And a lot more to come. Ye-haw


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